Superintendent Turnover in Relationship to Incumbent School Board Member Defeat in Washington

AERA SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP (SIG)

RESEARCH ON THE SUPERINTENDENCY SIG

DISSERTATION OF THE YEAR AWARD 2003

SUPERINTENDENT TURNOVER IN RELATIONSHIP TO INCUMBENT SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DEFEAT IN WASHINGTON FROM 1993-2000: A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Thomas L. Alsbury, Ed.D Washington State University, May 2001

Abstract Since the political reform movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s, educational administrators have been aware of the importance of understanding the dynamics of local politics on school boards and school superintendents. With demands for accountability and the resulting 1992 Washington state reform movement, educational administrators have an interest in quickly responding to dissatisfaction within their communities. A more complete understanding of the causal chain of events resulting from political turmoil could allow school districts to reduce frequent school board member and superintendent turnover and allow for increased stability within the school district. This information could also provide administrators the time needed to plan and implement any changes demanded of school organizations. The purpose of this study was to expand understanding of the links between community dissatisfaction, school board member defeat, and superintendent turnover using the Dissatisfaction Theory as a theoretical foundation for analysis of the data (Iannaccone & Lutz, 1970). The study employed quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in concert. The study utilized surveys, in-depth interviews and document analysis to address three questions: (1) What is the nature of the relationship between school board member turnover and superintendent turnover? (2) What is the nature of the relationship between school board member and superintendent turnover when distinctions are made between school board member defeat versus retirement or apolitical resignation? (3) How do qualitative data inform quantitative analyses addressing school board member defeat and superintendent turnover? The purpose of the quantitative phase of this study was to investigate the relationship between incumbent school board member and superintendent turnover in 176 Washington school districts (1993-2000) within a time span of one year, two years, three years, and four years after each general election. Data were examined collectively (over the entire 7 year period) and individually (each election year separately) for each school district. Data were collected through a self-response postcard survey distributed to all 296 school districts in Washington State with a return of 59%. Data were collected on superintendent turnover, school board turnover, district demographic changes, and the reasons for the departure of each school board member. The study examined the relationship between school board and superintendent turnover. The study included the variable of district size (rural and urban as defined by the United States Census Bureau) to determine if there was a relationship between school board member defeat, superintendent turnover, and district size. In the study, data were analyzed between school board member turnover versus defeat to determine if this variable would effect the results of the correlation analyses. School districts in Washington had a high rate of school board member change (97%) during the 1993-2000 time period. Superintendent turnover was also high (72%). Out of the 176 school districts who returned surveys, only five had no school board member changes during the study period 1993-2000, while forty-nine districts had no superintendent turnover. The Chi-square Test for Independence and the Bonferroni t statistic were used to analyze the data collected for the study. Of the eighteen Chi-square tests performed, four tests showed a statistically significant relationship between incumbent school board member and superintendent turnover at an alpha level of .05. However, after using a new alpha level of .033 established with the Bonferroni t formula, only one test remained statistically significant. The strongest relationship between school board member and superintendent turnover occurred four years after the 1995 election. Delineation between school board member defeat and turnover did not yield noticeable differences in the findings, although the one statistically significant correlation came from data comparing school board member defeat, with no significant relational results from the non-defeat data. With little from the quantitative data to support the Dissatisfaction Theory, qualitative data were evaluated in Phase II of the study in hope of providing additional and more in-depth information. In this phase of the study, two districts, whose resulting quantitative data did not provide support for a significant link between school board member and superintendent turnover, were visited for 2 – 3 days. Data were collected through interview of superintendents, principals, school board members and other district personnel, as well as an evaluation of the board minutes and other supporting documentation. Qualitative data supported the use of the Dissatisfaction Theory in these districts as a useful tool to explain the political chain of events in where quantitative data could not demonstrate a relationship. The study concluded that the Dissatisfaction Theory is an appropriate theoretical framework for describing and explaining the local politics of public school districts in Washington State. The study concluded that there is a statistically significant relationship only between incumbent school board member defeat (as opposed to turnover) 4 years after the 1995 Washington general election. However, no other data showed a correlation between school board member and superintendent turnover, and factors such as district size were not predictive of turnover. The distinction between school board member defeat versus apolitical turnover had little influence on the quantitative data analyses. This may indicate that school board member turnover, despite the reasons for the turnover, can impact superintendent turnover and eventually school policies. This study also supports the recommendation that projects evaluating theories in public school politics should use a combination of quantitative and qualitative research data and analysis techniques in concert to support predicted events in the Dissatisfaction Theory.