Who really runs our schools? Power, responsibility and the meaning of 'Trustee'

Until recently, if you had asked me where a school board's authority actually comes from, I would have struggled to give you a clear answer. That bothered me, so I started digging. When we lose sight of how an institution is designed to work, it becomes easier to misuse it, lose trust in it or expect it to do things it was never built to do. So I went looking for simple answers. What I found was both more straightforward and more important than I expected. California school boards were not accidental creations. They were intentionally designed as a visible, accountable form of local self-government. In 1879, California voters ratified a new state constitution. In Article IX, it established what is often called the free school guarantee. Education was declared a collective duty of the state. At the same time, the State Constitution gave the legislature authority to create and govern school districts. That framework produced three enduring ideas. First, public education is a shared responsibility, not a private privilege. Second, rather than run every school from Sacramento, the state chose local governance through elected boards. Third, because those boards would hold real authority, their power had to be exercised openly and within clear legal boundaries. There is no single law that created school boards. Over time, the legislature built out the Education Code to carry out its constitutional responsibility. School districts were formed. Governing boards were required. One way to think about it is this: The Constitution lays the foundation and the roof. The legislature builds the walls. Local school boards furnish the room and make it function for the community they serve. Importantly, school district governance was kept separate from city government. Education was deliberately insulated from broader municipal politics. Schools answer to voters, not city councils. The naming convention itself tells you something. Under Education Code Section 35010, districts are governed by a board of school trustees. Not directors. Not representatives. Trustees. That word matters. A trustee carries fiduciary responsibilities. The core idea is simple. You must put the interests of the people and the organization you serve ahead of your personal interests. These responsibilities are often described as care, loyalty and faithfulness to the law and the mission of the district. Care means making informed and thoughtful decisions. Loyalty means placing the district's interests above personal interests. Faithfulness to the law means acting within the boundaries set by the Education Code, board policy and the district's stated purpose. Trustees oversee the institution. They do not run it. Just as a trustee of an estate hires a manager, a school board hires a superintendent to handle day-to-day operations. Trustees focus on long-term health and direction. The superintendent manages staff and operations. This was the most profound point I discovered. An individual trustee has no independent authority. A single trustee cannot direct staff. Cannot hire or fire. Cannot sign contracts. Board authority exists only when a majority votes in a properly noticed public meeting. No single trustee speaks for the board. Because school boards were given meaningful authority, California placed strong guardrails around transparency. The Brown Act, California's open meeting law, requires that public business be discussed in public. Agendas must be posted in advance. Votes are taken openly. The community has the right to watch its school board work. Closed sessions are limited to specific topics such as personnel matters, litigation and labor negotiations. Even then, the purpose must be announced in advance and any final action reported publicly so the process itself remains visible. The Brown Act is not about controlling outcomes. It exists to ensure that decisions affecting the public are made in view of the public. So who acts as the watchdog over school boards? The answer is not a sheriff, a police chief or a district attorney. Unless conduct crosses into criminal behavior, there is no outside law enforcement agency that steps in when a trustee violates Education Code or board policy. The primary check is political, not prosecutorial. In the end, the real oversight belongs to you. It rests with engaged citizens, informed voters and local journalism that shines a light on decisions made in the public's name. Trustees are elected for four-year fixed terms. Accountability rests with the voters. In serious cases, recall is available. But most of the time, the safeguard is an informed and engaged community willing to pay attention. Local control only works when communities remain involved. In communities like ours, where neighbors still recognize each other in the grocery store and at Friday night games, that kind of local accountability matters. School board decisions affect classrooms, athletics, families and students almost immediately. The system works best when trustees see themselves not as faction leaders but as stewards of a shared trust. That is what the title of trustee was always meant to represent. When decisions are rooted in law, guided by community values and centered on students, the structure fulfills its original intent. Strong schools do not happen by accident. They depend on informed communities, engaged voters and trustees who remember who they serve. Our schools exist for students. They belong to the community. And the authority that governs them ultimately flows from us. Greg Brening is an Auburn resident and Del Oro High School graduate, class of 1987. He can be reached by email at email greg.brening@icloud.com.