Governance Problems Are Often Systems Problems

By Nathan Stark

A charter school can have a great board, a strong principal, and committed teachers…and still be running on duct tape.

That’s something I kept thinking about at the Florida Charter School Governance Conference.

We talk a lot about roles and responsibilities between boards, authorizers, CMOs, and school leaders. We should.

But there’s another question we need to ask:

Do our systems actually support those roles?

Because unclear systems create unnecessary friction:

A teacher needs something and doesn’t know where to submit the request
Leadership needs information buried in an email chain
Important resources live on someone’s personal spreadsheet
Calendars exist in multiple, disconnected places
A principal becomes the human connection point between systems that don’t connect

Eventually, the principal becomes the system.

That’s not sustainable.

I spent 16 years in education, including time as an assistant principal. I know how quickly “small” operational problems consume a school leader’s day.

Good governance creates clarity around who is responsible. Good school systems make it easier for those people to actually do their jobs.

As charter leaders, we need both.

Where does information still get stuck inside your school?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a school systems gap?

A systems gap occurs when a school’s internal tools, workflows, and communication channels (like shared drives, emails, chat apps) fail to integrate, forcing staff and administrators to manually bridge the disconnect.

How do operational inefficiencies impact school governance?

When boards and leadership focus solely on high-level strategy without examining internal administrative workflows, daily friction drains staff time, delays communication, and pulls focus away from student outcomes.

How can schools reduce administrative friction?

By centralizing school communications, document libraries, and daily coordination into a single unified workspace, schools eliminate platform hopping and give time back to educators.

#CharterSchools #SchoolLeadership #SchoolOperations #EducationLeadership

Nathan Stark

Nathan Stark is an experienced educator with over 16 years of service as a teacher and school administrator. His leadership has spanned roles in both public and private schools, where he has been dedicated to fostering collaboration, improving school efficiency, and supporting educators. As the author of Hidden Strength: Resiliency of the Sequoia, Nathan shares powerful lessons on resilience, drawing inspiration from the natural world to inspire growth and perseverance in others.