An essential - and non-negotiable - quality of a Board of Education member is the ability to maintain confidentiality. And it can be difficult to do so on occasions when you have the privilege of information that has informed decisions and you are not at liberty to share that information with the public. As much as we all want to publicly defend our decisions, there quite regularly are situations where to do so would be a violation of our students', staff members', or neighbors' trust. Not to mention it would ethically unsound.
I have spoken with other Board members who have shared challenges facing this requirement and I have experienced it myself. When your neighbors and people you respect are upset about or questioning a decision that you know is the right one, you really have to rise up to the expectations of the position and put confidentiality above your desire to impress others or have them like you.
Likewise, Board members are excluded from confidential matters that involve others with whom they are connected. Not just immediate family members, as is the case when a Board member's relative works in the district, but also in the case of close friends who become involved in a matter with the district. If my kid's best friend ends up involved in a HIB investigation, I have to recuse myself from that conversation and have no right whatsoever to the confidential information involved in those discussions. I am a member of a teacher's union in my role as a faculty member at Raritan Valley Community College, and my sister who teaches pre-school is a member of NJEA. Both of these relationship preclude me from participating in collective bargaining negotiations in the district. I am permitted to vote on the final contract, but cannot have any role in the negotiations, nor are my fellow Board members even permitted to let me know what is being discussed.
People who need to be "in the know" or derive satisfaction from using private information for their own gain will likely find themselves on the wrong end of an ethics violation as a school board member. They also risk damaging the trust of the community in the Board and administration, as well as the integrity of the district. Current Board members know this well, and it is definitely an educational experience for new Board members coming in who do not.
(As always, the above comments are my alone and not intended to represent the Pequannock Board of Education.)