Calling a Snow Day: How Local Politics Influence School Decisions

Educational administrators are faced with making decisions daily that affect the operations of their district, building, or organization. Nearly all these decisions are based on the needs and influence of local stakeholders and constituent groups. Calling a Snow Day: How Local Politics Influence School Decisions is a tool to help leaders in education identify, understand, and maneuver around all obstacles that would influence decisions based on the needs of the constituent and stakeholder group and not just the system as a whole. These decisions, which impact the stakeholders of an educational system, can be influenced by a political landscape that can be both beneficial and detrimental to the progress that the administrator is looking to make in consideration of their tenure in the district.

Richard Tomko has been a school administrator for the last 24 years in both private and public educational systems. He was recognized by Education Week in 2023 as a Leader to Learn from for exhibiting innovative solutions to fix some of the most pressing challenges facing K-12 schools in this critical period of our history.