Aspen School Board role gets clarified

What’s the role of a school board?

After two, newly-elected Aspen School District Board of Education members stepped into their roles following the November 2025 election, the board revisited its duties as an entity, outlining where its responsibilities reach and where others’ begin.

“In short, the school board helps to determine the ‘what,'” stated a Dec. 10 school board presentation regarding the board’s role, “and the superintendent determines the ‘how.'”

Aspen School Board Vice President Christa Gieszl said that the role of the board, consisting of unpaid volunteers elected by their constituents, is to serve as the “messengers” of the community, setting the tone for the district based on local feedback.

She said, however, that the board members are not the experts on how the school is run. Rather, they hire a superintendent to figure out that “how.” In 2024, the board hired ASD Superintendent Tharyn Mulberry, who will remain in place under the newly-elected board.

“He is the educational expert that we have hired to make sure the ideas we have come to fruition the best way they can — and operationally,” Gieszl said. “So he’s in charge of operation, and we’re in charge of setting the tone, picking a curriculum, making sure that it reflects what our community wants it to reflect.”

The board is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the school, she said.

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Mulberry reiterated the division of duties and said the board and district administration function best in conjunction with one another by communicating openly and respecting each other’s roles.

“And collaborate, so good ideas surface and decisions are carried out consistently — all in service of students, staff, and families,” he said. 

The board, which also defines the district’s resources through a budget, is only officially connected to the district’s management through the superintendent. Together, the board, the superintendent, and the superintendent’s executive assistant establish a school district “Governance Team.”

But the school board also has executive limitations.

“The Superintendent shall take reasonable steps to avoid causing or allowing any practice, activity, decision, or organizational circumstance that is either unlawful, unethical, unsafe, disrespectful, imprudent, or in violation of Board policy, as further defined in these policies,” the executive limitations state. 

While the board meets at the Aspen High School in public meetings every other Wednesday during the school year — allowing its constituents to tune in to its decision-making — it can also break for privately-held “executive sessions.” 

Decisions related to real estate purchases, legal consults with attorneys, legally confidential matters, security details, various forms of negotiation, personnel matters, discussion of the non-disclosure of documents under the Open Records Act, and student-focused discussions that would adversely affect the student or students if discussed publicly, all qualify as reasons to break for executive session, according to the presentation. 

The presentation cautioned board members that they should practice confidentiality as they may encounter sensitive information about students, staff, or other matters. 

“Superintendent is our one employee with whom we may need to share sensitive information,” the presentation states, “and discretion should be used in how to share this most effectively.”