Public Values and Policy Making
ASBSD/SASD Joint Convention
August 13, 2010

To support the policy making role of the school board by examining four American values that influence decision making.
To encourage school board members to engage in professional development and share their learning with fellow board members.

Public Problem
Facts Myths
Public Decision
(Policy)
Values

a verifiable statement of what is true
what people think is fact
opinions about how things should be

Prosperity
Liberty
Community
Equality

Competing Values
 Sometimes people want to be free more than they want to be equal.
 Other times they want to be
equal more than they want to be
free.
 Sometimes people want to be
secure more than they want to be
prosperous.
 Other times they want to be
prosperous more than they want to be secure.

Pre-K
Education
How are the core values involved in this situation?

PDK/Gallup Poll 2009
Mandatory Kindergarten?
While most U. S. children participate in either halfday or full-day kindergarten, Americans strongly endorse making it compulsory for all children.

PDK/Gallup Poll 2009
Start School at Age 4?
Americans aren’t yet prepared to have children start school at age four, a year earlier than is traditional, even though they’re more open to this idea than when they were asked 25 years ago. Even though they don’t favor having children start school at age four, 40% of
Americans believe that starting children at an earlier age would improve a child’s achievement, with another
41% not sure that it would make a difference.

PDK/Gallup Poll 2009
Publicly Fund Pre-K Programs?
Almost six out of 10 Americans would be willing to pay more taxes to fund free preschool programs for those children whose parents are unable to pay for them.

PDK/Gallup Poll 2009
Pre-K Program Locations?
Eighteen years ago, we asked Americans where preschool programs should be located. Respondents were evenly divided, suggesting public schools, parent’s workplace, or special preschool facilities. That’s changed significantly, and half of Americans now believe preschool programs should be housed in public schools, with parents even more supportive of that idea.

Pre-K
Education
How are the core values involved in this situation?

Liberty Equality Community Prosperity

Balancing the Values




There are no “single-value” public problems. They always involve a tension between a least two public values.
No one value is always better than the others. Every time people solve a public problem, their decision favors some values over others but not the same values every time.
Solutions that satisfy only one value are unjust. Since every public problem involves at least two values, people cannot solve a public problem by using only one value.
People are more likely to find a “good” solution to a public problem if they understand that decisions are less about how to do good things rather than a bad things, and more about how to do a good thing without jeopardizing another good thing.

st
 “In high-achieving districts, boards are successful at
setting goals, providing support through
professional development, and holding the
system accountable.”
(Lighthouse Study, Iowa Schools Boards Foundation)
 Drafted last year by a task force of mostly school board members in Washington state, a set of standards for school board members emphasize strategic planning,
community engagement, and data-driven decision making.

How can this information about values and public policy help you and your colleagues become more effective in your roles as policy makers?