Addressing Marshall school trustees at a special-called meeting Monday, Region VII Education Service Center representative David Sharp offered a number of helpful tips for administrators and warned that the success of a school district is based on relationship building and trust between a superintendent and school board members.

Members of the board convened in the superintendent's conference room around noon to hear a presentation by Sharp. Sharp said such meetings were standard in all districts in Texas.

"It's just offerings that we do at the service center to try to help the district stay on focus and help them move forward," said Sharp. "Every school board in the state is required to do so much training on an annual basis and one of the things that you do is team training."

Speaking to the group for more than an hour, Sharp emphasized the responsibilities board members and a superintendent have as role models for a community and that in order to function as a cohesive unit, administrators must share common goals, devise "clear operating procedures" and operate with integrity and honesty.

Sharp referenced a number of school districts he had either visited or worked for in the past that had been unable to fulfill these ideals and discussed the devastating impact a breakdown in leadership and trust can have on a school district. Not revealing any names of the districts he discussed, Sharp said some of them had reached such dysfunctional heights that micromanagement and in-fighting were common.

"It's a learning process and a growing process," said Sharp, also noting a common misconception by community members is that school trustees hold more power to influence change than they actually have. "You can't have a cohesive group unless you're working together and in order for this to happen there must be trust."

Sharp also stressed how it important it is for trustees and a superintendent to be fully aware of their roles and how crucial it is for administrators to abide by state guidelines on how to function. He said those who step out of their roles, usually cause harm to their school districts.

"You need to have common goals, common directions and it's important to trust each other and make decisions based on the kids," said Sharp.