During football season, if your living rooms are anything like ours, you’ve shouted a lot of “feedback” to the TV when your favorite team is playing. School boards should bring that same spirit—only more constructive—to superintendent and business manager evaluations this fall.
Even though South Dakota doesn’t have state laws that require superintendent or business manager evaluations, many contracts do. If your superintendent’s contract promises an evaluation, now’s the time to start thinking about how to make those evaluations more productive than a dropped pass on third and long.
Clear evaluations are also important legally to protect boards of education from claims of breach of contract or a board’s employment decisions are arbitrary and capricious.
Switching Playbooks
Don’t love your current instrument? Considering installing a new scheme for the 25-26 school year? There is still time to switch, regardless of what instrument you would prefer to use. If your board is looking for a smoother process, the KSB Evaluation Platform is ready to go for both superintendents and business managers. It’s designed to take the stress out of evaluations and give both the board and superintendent/business manager a clear tool for feedback.
Huddle Up: Building Healthy Board–Superintendent Communication
Evaluations are a structured opportunity for boards to provide meaningful feedback—both affirmations and concerns. Too often, board members hesitate to voice concerns because they doubt their qualifications to “judge” a superintendent. That silence can be catastrophic, leading to festering frustrations or reactive decision-making when issues come to a head.
Superintendents and Business Managers: resist the urge to be defensive. No matter how long you’ve been in the district, treat this process as a chance to invite genuine communication—good, bad, or ugly. A transparent and constructive evaluation builds trust, clarifies expectations, and reduces the risk of misunderstandings that can destabilize governance.
Key Takeaways for Boards
Check your contracts: Make sure you know when your superintendent or business must be evaluated under their contracts.
Confirm your instrument: Contact your administrative team if you aren’t sure what form you are supposed to use.
Consider upgrading: The KSB platform offers a streamlined evaluation system with all the paperwork handled for you.
Wrapping Up
Think of this as the two-minute drill before halftime: get your evaluation scheduled and confirm your instrument. Because unlike screaming at the TV, this feedback actually gets to the person who needs to hear it.
Speaking of football, mark your calendars: KSB is hosting a tailgate at the USD v. SDSU game on November 8 in Vermillion. Please RSVP here. We’d love to see you there—because good conversations don’t just happen in boardrooms, they happen over brats, beers, and a little friendly football rivalry.