Lessons from a School Board Spouse (by Chad Ehmke)

1. Your spouse will get a whole new wardrobe in athletic wear from the local teams. You will get none. Buy your own from local booster clubs, but buy some.
2. Add an extra 30 minutes to your time planning for any school event; someone will want to talk to your spouse.
3. Add an extra 30 minutes to ANY event….even grocery shopping….someone will want to talk to your spouse.
4. Rezoning is NOT your friend.
5. People will expect you to know (and you won’t) all about School Board things, just because your spouse knows.
6. Call screening is not bad manners anymore. If you don’t recognize the number any more, it’s for them.
7. You don’t have to go to EVERYTHING they get invited to. You can still be supportive from afar.
8. School Board people can’t fix EVERY problem in the District.
9. People don’t call your house because they are “thrilled with the way things are going”. Be ready for this.
10. There aren’t many “perks” to being on the School Board. Accept the ones that come your way – it will never be enough for the time they’ll spend.