My School Board Archives

Since 2013 I have been active in working to improve the performance of school boards in Wisconsin and beyond. Below are links to various writings, presentations, and peer-reviewed academic research related to school board governance. If there is any specific piece of research you are looking for please reach out at mford3482@gmail.com.

Dissertation

In 2013 I completed my PhD. In Urban Studies at UW-Milwaukee. My dissertation, The Impact of School Board Governance on Academic Achievement in Diverse States, was a largescale study connecting school board governance to school district performance. I concluded: “Traditional school boards can and do influence academic outcomes, meaning, improving school board governance is a legitimate approach to improving academic achievement.”

You can download my dissertation here: https://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1334&context=etd

Selected Op-Eds

· How to Prevent Meaningless Controversies from Dominating School Board Coverage. The Grade. August 7, 2024.

· Rethinking School Board Interest Groups. PA Times. May 8, 2023.

· The Toxic Impact of Culture Wars on Policy. PA Times. February 6, 2023.

· School Boards Matter. PA Times. December 18, 2021.

· Why School Board Elections Should Stay Non-Partisan. PA Times. August 25, 2021.

· The Problem with Governance by Gesture. PA Times, July 21, 2021.

· The Practical Challenge of Doing What Works. PA Times. March 5, 2018.

· In Defense of Democratic Governance. PA Times. November 13, 2017.

· The Challenge of Linking Governance to Performance. PA Times. May 20, 2016.

· What’s the Root of School Board Conflict? School Administrator. January 2017.

· Identifying and Addressing Unproductive Conflict on Wisconsin School Boards. WASB. July 2016.

School Board Related Talks/Media Appearances

“Unusual Mix of Possible Candidates Up for Chicago’s First School Board Elections this Fall.” AP Chicago. https://apnews.com/article/chicago-schools-elections-candidates-campaign-df75408c3784651928b6f626dee5e939. June 3, 2024.

“Can Wisconsin fund school districts with the $7 billion budget surplus, instead of referendums?” WIZM La Crosse. https://www.wizmnews.com/2024/02/20/can-wisconsin-fund-school-districts-with-the-7-billion-budget-surplus-instead-of-referendums/. February 20, 2024.

Effective School Board Governance in an Era of Politicization. Presentation at the Annual Legislative Conference of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. November 2023.

Interviewed by WBEZ Chicago (NPR) on Chicago’s Transition to an Elected School Board: https://www.wbez.org/stories/hopes-and-fears-abound-as-chicago-moves-toward-an-elected-school-board/c5bab45c-c429-4e66-9c42-ab7da9f401f4. September 2023.

“Using Forecasting and Data in Public Budgeting.” Presentation to the Wisconsin League of Municipalities. July 25, 2023.

“Do School Boards Govern, or are they Rubber Stamps?” Invited talk for Harvard Kennedy School of Government. June 1, 2023.

“Making the Most Out of Your School Board.” Governance training to nine school districts. Sun Prairie, WI. May 24, 2023.

“Impact of Politicization on Nonpartisan School Board Races.” Invited Speaker at Wisconsin League of Women Voters. Waukesha, WI, May 2022. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Et-K5Cs3w.

“Wisconsin school boards and partisan politics.” Guest on PBS Wisconsin Here and Now. April 8, 2022. Available at: https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/wisconsin-school-boards-and-partisan-politics/.

“Political agendas, endorsements playing a major role in school board elections.” Interviewed on CBS 58 Milwaukee. April 4, 2022. Available at: https://www.cbs58.com/news/political-agendas-endorsements-playing-a-major-role-in-school-board-elections.

What Increasingly Partisan and Venomous Wisconsin School Board Races Reveal About American Elections. Quoted in ProPublica. April 1, 2022. Available at: https://www.propublica.org/article/what-increasingly-partisan-and-venomous-wisconsin-school-board-races-reveal-about-american-elections.

“State Faces Wave of School Board Recalls.” Interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio. October 25, 2021.

Available at: https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2021/10/25/state-faces-wave-of-school-board-recalls/.

“Why School Board Elections Should Stay Nonpartisan.” Op-Ed in Governing. September 2, 2021. Available at: https://www.governing.com/now/why-school-board-elections-should-stay-nonpartisan.

“The Wisconsin Superintendent: Priorities, Challenges, and Board Relations.” Invited Speaker at the Annual Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators Conference, Oshkosh, WI, April 2018.

“School boards increasingly embrace the ABCs of social activism.” Quoted in Washington Post, February 17, 2018.

“Making the Most Out of Your School Board.” Invited Speaker at the Wisconsin State Education Convention, Milwaukee, WI, January 2018.

“Wisconsin Schools Lack Minority Teachers.” UpFront with Mike Gousha, WISN Milwaukee, December 3, 2017.

Quoted in the American School Board Journal, April 2016: The Key to Success.

Technical Reports

Ford, M, Christensen, R, and Bouche, E (2022). Governing for Results in Wisconsin Local Government. Report prepared for the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research, Oshkosh, WI.

Ford, M., (2013). Understanding School Finance in Wisconsin: A Primer. Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.

Ford, M., (2012). Using Value-Added Analysis to Raise Student Achievement in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. Co-authored with Sarah Archibald.

Peer Reviewed Research Articles

Ford, M.R. (2023). Special Interest Group Influence in School Districts: Exploring the Impact of Locale. Leadership and Policy in Schools.

Ford M. R. (2023). Board Dynamics and Meeting Management. Encyclopedia of Nonprofit Management, Leadership and Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Ford, M.R. (2022). Going Virtual: The Impacts of a Virtual Charter School Governance Reform. Public Performance & Management Review.