January 2020 | Bill Clawson Retires after Eight Years of Board Service
Since joining the Board of Education in January 2012, retiring Board member Bill Clawson has worked with 10 different Board members and four superintendents, served as Board president for three years (2014, 2015 and 2016) and actively helped to pass one District operating levy, a permanent improvement levy and a bond issue. He also helped to introduce the PreK program Shaker’s First Class, the SELF summer program and efforts to better market our accomplishments with residents and Realtors.
Read more about Mr. Clawson’s reflections on his time as a Board member and his plans moving forward.
Thinking back, why did you run for the Board of Education?
When I first ran for office in 2011, I had been involved with the schools in the PTO and in the classrooms. The District impressed me in many ways, but I could see that the world around us was changing and I thought that maybe there was something more that I could do. Professionally, I had experience with developing long-term strategies, and I knew that I could contribute in that way. So I did my research and talked with board members from Shaker and other districts. I studied board member best practices and I really came to appreciate that the role of a school board is to operate as a collective and to determine where a district should go without micromanaging the day-to-day.
I knew going in that we would be facing a levy and I had thoughts on lengthening the levy cycle to reduce the tax burden on our residents. I also knew that, at some point, we’d be facing a our fist superintendency change in more than 25 years. So those are the things that were on my radar when I ran.
What wasn’t on your radar?
What I didn’t foresee was how much you end up nearly starting over any time there’s a change. Having worked with 10 different Board members and three superintendents, I don’t think anything quite prepares you for the different work approaches, different backgrounds, and experiences with our schools. I think that required more personal relationship building to understanding different points of view than I anticipated, but I also think it made me a better Board member and stronger professional. Also, the job is very involved. When I served as President, most weeks required 30 to 40 hours of calls, meetings, research and speaking at school events. I got really good at being efficient at my day job and operating on very little sleep.
What do you see differently now than you did eight years ago?
Today, I certainly understand and appreciate the challenges with providing a high-quality education to Shaker students from several angles. First, from the diversity of students and their needs. Second, managing the challenges that districts face because of constraints put on them by the state or by the federal government and how quickly those changes force districts to modify their approaches. And finally, how challenging it is to implement those changes for 900 employees, especially when we start over every nine months. It’s almost like you’re in a constant race for next year. Over the past eight years, I really grew to appreciate these layers. They helped me to calibrate the pace of change, the pace of adoption for new approaches and how to make recommendations for how to meter those things out -- all the while knowing that our students don’t get a do-over if we fail.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a Board member?
Our community and their advocacy and strong support for our schools is wonderful, and at times, a challenge. The community — this includes students, teachers, parents, alumnae, and those that don’t have students — holds very strong beliefs in how things should be done and they don’t hold back in sharing that. But this can present a communication impossibility when you work to keep everyone informed in the way they want, when they want and how they want. As much as I wanted better and clearer communications at times, the very differences in all those definitions and expectations — and when you overlay how much social media grew over the past eight years and legal requirements to protect individuals’ privacy — made effective communication a real challenge for everyone.
What’s next for you, now that you’ll have considerably more free time?
It’s certainly been an honor to serve these past eight years. I said in my last meeting that my family also served with me. Every concert, athletic event, or trip to Heinen’s would often result in a conversation about a community member’s perspective on the schools. Now, I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family. Also, my day job is going to keep my busier: I was recently promoted to lead Compensation and Benefits at my employer, so I am now in charge of ensuring that we’re offering the right benefits and the right level of compensation for 41,000 employees and their families.
What’s the biggest opportunity, from your point of view, for Shaker Heights Schools?
Our District has high expectations of everyone: our students, our teachers and our administrators. I think our biggest challenge is making sure we are providing students as well as our staff with the tools and resources they need to help every student achieve the highest level of success that they can. And with the diversity we have, that really means that we have to, as a community, feel comfortable with the concepts of equity and be able to differentiate based on what a person needs, so that on graduation day, when our students walk across the stage, they know that they have an incredible life ahead because they went to Shaker Heights Schools.
What are your thoughts on the Board moving forward?
Our existing four Board members and new Board member have a lot of work in front of them, but I’m encouraged by our path forward and by Dr. Glasner. Education continues to evolve so we can all expect more change. I know that together, they’ll successfully lead us into the future!