Q&A with Trustee Leanne Haynes
January is聽, and we want to spotlight our聽Board of Trustees聽and all the great work they do. This year the theme for the month is 鈥淟ocally Elected, Community Connected.鈥
Today, we鈥檙e catching up with board member Leanne Haynes. 91制片厂 parent is one of our new board members, having been elected last May.
Has your first year as a board member been what you thought it would be like?
It has been so much more than what I thought it would be like in extremely rewarding ways, in some challenging ways, but overall, it has exceeded my expectations. There鈥檚 been a bit more of a learning curve. It鈥檚 like drinking from a fire hose for the first several months. Recently, within the last month to two months, I have started to feel comfortable. I know what鈥檚 coming. I hope that doesn鈥檛 change.
Do you think there鈥檚 anything that could have prepared you?
I think I was as prepared as an involved citizen as I could be. I don鈥檛 think there was anything else I could do there besides potentially serving longer on committees. It was finding the adjustments in my work-life balance, finding the adjustment as a full-time working mom whose husband travels every week and juggling the important responsibilities that I was elected to do. How do I do that? How do I do that well? My family hit a rhythm right before Christmas. Until something else happens, I think I finally figured out what鈥檚 expected of me as a trustee. I think that鈥檚 a big part of the piece. I knew the work that we do, but the expectation of where you fit into that work and what do we have our hands in and what don鈥檛 we have our hands in. Understanding that once you鈥檙e in the seat makes it easier to navigate your life in that role.
When you started as a trustee you thought the superintendent choice was made. How much of an adjustment was that in coming into what you thought was a settled situation to having a role in the decision?
That nice little pivot played a large piece in the job being way more than I anticipated it being when I stepped into it. I am so thankful that the previous candidate changed her mind and that I got to be part of the selection process. There are a lot of trustees that don鈥檛 get to do that. It was extremely rewarding, and I think it was a nice confidence boost that I and the other new trustees needed. We needed that. We needed something that we felt like we could walk away from and think that we did that. We actively contributed. We were equipped with the knowledge and skills, and we did that. It was awesome.
The theme for the month is 鈥渓ocally elected, community connected.鈥 How important is community support to you?
It鈥檚 everything. The community got me elected in the role and entrusted me with the responsibility of serving. I don鈥檛 believe our district would function efficiently without the support of the community, without our stakeholders who are actively involved and contributing daily to the success of our students and teachers and admin and to the success of the trustees. The community feedback, the community dialogue, that鈥檚 essential for me to doing my job well. Community is everything in this job.
Your favorite part of the job is鈥..?
It鈥檚 probably a tie. Graduations are incredible. We don鈥檛 get paid as trustees, but as close to getting some sort of compensation is sitting on the stage watching the students graduate with as close of a view as you can get is powerful. Any time I get to go on a campus 鈥 I鈥檓 a PTA mom at heart 鈥 so I love going on the campuses. I love reading to the kids. I love helping where I can. My kids are older, so I don鈥檛 get to do that on campuses. When schools invite me and I get to come help or visit or hang out, I love doing that.