Beyond the black box: AI, equity and school governance

More about the podcast

In this episode, James and Jay share their insights on how AI and digital tools are reshaping governance in school districts. From streamlining administrative tasks and enhancing board decision-making to improving transparency and equity. We explore the opportunities AI presents for strategic planning, risk management and community trust, while also addressing the ethical and practical challenges that come with rapid technological change.

We discuss the importance of human oversight, professional development and creating clear policies to guide responsible AI adoption. Jay and James offer thoughtful advice on how school boards can foster innovation while safeguarding student data, ensuring equitable access and maintaining accountability.

Listen now as we explore how school boards can move from reactive to proactive governance, what skills board members need to develop, and why curiosity, courage and critical thinking are essential in the age of AI.

Stick around to the end for their top tips on future-proofing governance in K-12 education with technology.

Resources for school boards on AI and technology

• The 3 E's of future-ready governance
• Smarter boards start here: A guide for public sector governance leaders
• NEA - AI Toolkit
• Edtechteacher
• AI Policy Labs
• Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC)

Transcript of interview with James Page and Jay Worona, NYSSBA

Jill Holtz: Hi, everyone. Today, I am really excited to be joined by two leaders from and connected with the New York State School Boards Association. So first up, I have the Association's Chief Information Officer, James Page. And then I'm also joined today by Jay Worona, partner at law firm, Jasper Schlesinger and Narendra. And Jay is also the former Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel for NYS SBA. So Jay and James, a very warm welcome to the podcast.

Jay Worona: Thank you. It's pleasure to be here.

James Page: Thank you.

How is AI being incorporated in school districts

Jill Holtz: So the reason I invited you to join me on our podcast is that I'm really interested in getting your perspective on governance, technology and as part of technology, AI, but in the context of school boards and school districts. So, James, if I could start with you, how have you been seeing AI becoming incorporated within school districts? And as a follow up, there's a lot of discussion about AI and instruction and teaching and students, but I'm curious what is being talked about in terms of administrative, operational or governance.

James Page: Well, thank you, Jill, and happy to be here. In my role as CIO and working with school districts, I've seen AI adaptive emerge along two major tracks, instructional and operational use. On the side of instructional, districts are beginning to explore AI power tools for personalized learning, adaptive assessments, and tutoring support. Teachers are experimenting with platforms that can generate personalized lesson plans, provide language translations for multilingual learners and help identify student gaps much earlier. Just the other day, I think it was on CBS Today, they had a segment on AI in the classroom and an elementary teacher was talking about utilizing AI to turn books into podcasts in a matter of minutes. Think of some of the benefits that this would have for some of the visually impaired students. While this space tends to get the most media attention, districts need to be cautious and balance the innovative concerns around student data privacy, content, accuracy, and equitably access of access. With that, things that don't get a lot of attention, I would probably say is administrative efficiency, automated routine tasks such as transcripts, requests, enrollment processing, or even scheduling free staff to focus on higher learning work, operational planning, use of predictive analytics to forecast enrollment trends, transportation needs or even staffing requirements. And one of the things that we at the New York City School Boards is looking at right now is governance and board support, enhancing agenda preparation, policy analysis, and decision-making through AI-driven insights. And of course, one of the things that is not so glamorous is risk and compliance and monitoring cybersecurity threats, ensuring compliance at the state and federal level.

Jill Holtz: That's a lot to unpick and we'll continue talking about some of these threads, but that's a great intro to the topic. And Jay, how do you think leaders and board members should be thinking about policy to govern this? Because after all, that's a key part of their role. How should board members even anticipate AI becoming part of the governance process? Where would it be used? Is it things like better minutes, summarizing documents? Where do you see the opportunities and what are you scared of as well?

Jay Worona: Yeah, well, that's a great question, Jill. And as James said, it is a pleasure to be with you today. Yeah, I think first of all, whether it be AI usage by students, which is not what we're talking about, or AI usage by school board members, administrators, I think the number one thing is we better get beyond fearing a technology that is here and is going to be staying and is being already used by our kids. Because otherwise, we will be clueless adults who just are not there.

With respect to adults, the school board members, mean, the things that you just mentioned, we could utilize AI in a way that could be really awesome, right? It could summarize our documents. You know that in New York state where both James and I hail from, most of the school board members, there's 5,000 of them in number, most of them are unpaid. In our big cities, they are paid somewhat, a minimal amount. But for unpaid people to be reading thousands and thousands of pages every month can be very, very troublesome, particularly since you're trying to also raise a family and provide for them with your job. So summary documentation could be awesome. Data analysis could be something that could be used and could be really helpful for school board members.

As a governance team to know that when they want to get from point A to point B, it's easy to decide we want to be at point B. But knowing what is the best way for us to get there, what are the metrics along the way? Are we actually improving? Are we not improving? Because obviously, just if you and I were in a car and we're heading the wrong direction, yeah, we're driving, but we need to recalibrate and go in a different direction. So that could be extremely important as well. And I think that it could help with even providing them with an analysis of where they've been with respect to their board meetings, right? The prior board meetings, giving summaries of where they were so they know where they go in the future. What am I fearful of? I'm fearful that some people, some people, might by human nature be lazy. And if you end up relying on AI, you know, we have these things called hallucinations or whatever, James, and you know, far better than me. I'm not, I'm not a technical person. but, but I do know that sometimes it provides information that is not accurate. And if people rely on this, and they are part of a governance team, they're representing their public and they're going to get it wrong. And that's, that's fear. You know, that, that, that, that I fear because people might, you know, take the path of least resistance to try to make it, to do it the easy way.

Jill Holtz: Yes.

Jay Worona: So if it's gonna help them do their jobs, phenomenal. If it's gonna do their jobs for them, that's really problematic.

Ethical considerations for AI use in school districts

Jill Holtz: I think that's excellent advice. And I suppose what you always need to then consider in any AI use is the human oversight, the human sense checking. And sometimes that might even need some legal oversight, depending on what the use is and the policy, for example. As AI use continues to scale in education, James let's touch on the ethical considerations. What should leaders and the school board members keep front of mind to ensure that the technology they adopt, the policies they create and adopt are responsible, equitable and student focused? What springs to mind here?

James Page: As AI adoption continues to scale in education, I think there are several ethical considerations that school boards and school districts need to keep front of mind. First is the issue of equity of access. So AI can be transformative, but only if all students have the infrastructure. And that's with any technology. mean, do they have the devices, the connectivity, and the support to really benefit? So we need to ensure AI doesn't widen the digital divide or unintentionally reinforce biases in learning materials and assessments. The second, which is dealing with data privacy and security, student information is among the most sensitive data for districts to manage. Leaders need to demand transparency from vendors about how data is collected, stored, and used to ensure contracts and policies align with state and federal regulations. The third is I'd probably say transparency and accountability. mean, AI systems should never be in a black box that families or educators can't question. If the algorithms are influencing students' support, grading, or resource allocation, there must be human oversight and clear explanation of how these decisions are made. And finally, I'd probably say a human-centered implementation. So AI should be seen as a support for educators and not a replacement. So boards should invest in professional development, or teachers, so they can understand both the capabilities and limitations of these tools, because understand AI is just really a tool. And policies should always reinforce the educators to retain final judgment in the decisions affecting students.

Jill Holtz: That's excellent. Jay, how do you think school boards should be working with their administrative teams to foster a culture of strategic innovation while also providing the necessary oversight to some of the things that James just touched on, data privacy, cybersecurity bias, etc.

Jay Worona: I mean, there's not one thing that James said that is not 100% accurate. I think one of the things I would just add to something that he spoke about before, because he mentioned algorithms. And we all know that sometimes algorithms, to no fault of AI, it's doing what's popular perhaps, but sometimes it can build an inequitable system, right? And a biased system. So we have to make sure, and this is why James is so brilliant when he said, human oversight because we have to make sure that we're not relying on AI to the detriment of marginalized kids, right? We have to make sure that everybody is treated in an equitable manner as well. And I think that's a big focus for administrators to answer your question. I finally get around to it, which is that they are human beings. They're not machines.

And they should be utilizing all the things that we're talking about to expedite and to make our jobs easier. But if we rely on them in some wholesale fashion, we might place kids in jeopardy. So that's really the thing that I think they have to be experts in. as James said before, when somebody becomes a school administrator, and certainly when someone becomes a school board member, they're not taking some test for how in fact they're going to be dealing with AI, right? This is a technology that certainly in most instances did not exist when many of those people were being trained or signing up for that service. So I think that kind of professional development is super, super important. And I know that your company engages in a lot of that and we applaud that.

What skills and competences do school board members need to cultivate for governance of AI?

Jill Holtz: Yes, and I think we try with all our resources to help, you know, support that board development. So to that point, James, what skills and competencies or even mindsets do you believe that today's school board members need to cultivate so that they can effectively govern governance in this? And I know this sounds like an AI cliche, a rapid technological advancement, but you know, it's changing so quickly What are the kind of skills and competencies that they need to look to develop themselves?

James Page: That's a great question, Jill. So I think today's school board members really need to expand their toolkit to govern effectively in this era of rapid technologically change. mean, they don't need to be experts in technologies, but they do need a level of digital literacy and curiosity, to be honest. So that makes me uncomfortable asking questions about how things like AI, cybersecurity and data analysis affect instruction, privacy and district operations. Much like they've traditionally learned to ask informed questions about budgets, and finances, I like to point out strategic and ethical oversight. Technologies can create tremendous opportunities, but it also carries many risks, whether around access, data security, or unintentional consequences of automation. So boards need the mindset of balancing innovations with safeguards or what some people call these guardrails, ensuring policies and contracts reflect the student missions and protects students.

Today it's about shifting simply oversight to being a strategic partner in shaping how technology is used. When board members bring curiosity, most of us do, ethical stewardship, and collaboration to the table, they're better positioned to help their districts embrace innovations while keeping students at the center of every decision.

Jill Holtz: I absolutely love that and I think what's so great about what you said there was really everybody's scared of AI new technology but really it comes down to there's a thing happening in our district what do we need to ask about how do we make sure the risks are assessed correctly how are we overseeing that properly so they don't need to be AI experts but they need to be able to ask the right questions and be digitally literate.

James Page: Correct.

Jill Holtz: Jay, just to kind of touch a little bit further on that, because I think they're, you know, you're adopting, if boards are going to adopt say data tools, digital technology, how can they strengthen trust and transparency with their communities so that they can show that their governance is inclusive and accountable? Have you got any advice?

Jay Worona: Yeah, so I go back to something James talked about. He mentioned the black box, right? So we shouldn't be doing anything in a school board role that would preclude the public from understanding in a transparent way, you know, what constitutes how our decisions are, you know, brought about. And I'll give an example of that. So our curriculum in the United States, certainly we have a very polarized political society right now, sadly.

And there are people who have made presuppositions about the curriculum offerings of school districts. Are they structured so as to be ideological, right? To try to persuade kids to be liberal Democrats or conservative Republicans, et cetera. And of course, the answer is no, actually what we exist for is to teach critical thinking skills. So I think it's really important, to answer your question, for boards to make sure that their public understands that whatever tools we're using, whether it be just our teachers in our classroom or the AI tools, all of this stuff is designed to enable our students to critically examine and to think about where they are. And the same thing applies to school board members. So they can critically examine the materials that are before them and they can do the best job possible. The problem with democracy is trying to preserve it and if people in this particular society, and I don't wanna be on a soapbox, but people argue over things that are factually inaccurate, and that's problematic. Let's have a great dialogue about whether you believe in X or Y. But for example, if we're having a debate about how much we hate or don't like the fact that it's raining outside and it's beautiful outside, that's a stupid debate, right? So I think from a school board perspective, they need to be in a situation with their administrative staff to have their community understand that we exist to impart critical thinking skills. We practice it ourselves at our board table. We don't rely on AI to the detriment of any of that. I think that's really super important.

Jill Holtz: I think that's really excellent and I suppose, you know, I work for Diligent, we sell software that supports school boards and part of that is about having a single source of truth for everybody who's involved, whether it's an administrator, superintendent, board member, community member, that they can access that information easily. They can see the latest updates on that and that they can really query that as well in a very transparent but accountable way, I would say.

Future of governance for school boards

So as we begin to wrap up, as we look ahead, my God, the year's gone so quickly. I'd love to hear from both of you on what excites you about the opportunities that advanced technology and AI will bring to school boards and governance the next few years. James, let me start with you on that one.

James Page: Well, really, I'm a techie, Jill, so a lot of it excites me as it pertains to technology, so I'll be honest with you. But what excites me most is how advanced technology like AI can help school boards move from being reactive to becoming more strategic. Right now, governance often depends on looking backwards. So reviewing last year's budgets, last quarter's data with AI and advanced analytics, boards can be able to look forward, predicting enrollment shifts, modeling financial impacts or even seeing early signs of equity gaps in student enrollment trends. So I'm so excited about what this means for transparency and trust. Boards deal with complex data and AI can help shift that information into clear visuals and insights for the community. When parents and stakeholders can actually see how resources are being allocated or how policies affect different student groups, it builds confidence in the board's decisions. And finally, I think AI can take a lot of the administrative load off of boards, things like policy comparisons, agenda prep, or digging through hundreds of pages of documents, automating these frees members to focus on what really matters, long-term strategy, equity, and student outcomes. So in short the opportunity isn't just about efficiencies, it's about empowering boards to govern more proactively, more transparent, and more effectively with students still at the center of every decision in their North Star.

Jill Holtz: That's very inspiring, James. Thank you. Jay, I'm going to put you on the bad cop spot. What's frightening you about the future? What have you got there? Tell me about that.

Jay Worona: You know, I go back to something I said before, Jill, and again, I'm not a techie like James is, but I do love technology. And I do love the fact that every single thing that he said is 100 % accurate. can make us, it can expedite the things that we spend a lot of time on so we can really focus on the good stuff. Though it scares me again, as I said before, is that people rely on this technology to the point where they don't engage in critical thinking skills themselves, board members, right? So it's really important to utilize these tools. As James said, if you do it properly, you're going to actually achieve success and you're going to develop trust in your community. If however, you don't utilize these tools appropriately, you don't. I'll give you a silly example. I remember when supermarkets started scanning our products, right? It used to be that the clerk had to type it all in. And I remember there were some supermarkets that would say, hey, if they get it wrong, we're going to give you that product plus the price of it, right? And it was a way of trying to convince people. We so believe in our technology. Exactly, right? So I think that we need to be in a position to be able to not screw around with this. We have to put the time in because if we do this in a way that does the opposite of building trust, we're going to be even in worse shape. They're going to think that we're lazy, we're stupid, and we're certainly not serving the interests of kids. So that does scare me because again, as I said, sometimes human nature is such that people will try to take the easy way out.

But I am convinced, and I've been doing this job for over 40 years, I'm convinced that the people who choose to be school board members care so much, at least in our state certainly, and most of them are unpaid. It is pure altruism to be just working on behalf of kids. So I don't believe that people are going to just look for that easy fix because why would they have signed up for this? I fear that we could rely on that. So we have to be very careful, Jill. But other than that, everything that James said, I couldn't agree with more.

Advice for leaders for governance and technology and AI

Jill Holtz: I love that and it's about being mindful and putting those guardrails in and just sense checking, isn't it? Finally, I'm going to ask you both a quick fire question. So in 30 seconds or less, James, what's one piece of advice you'd give to mission driven leaders looking to future proof their governance using technology and AI?

James Page: Wow. Well, I give you, you asked for one, but I give you two. So from a pragmatic perspective, I say treat technology strategy as governance strategy. Ask informed questions about data privacy, equity, and long-term sustainability. Build board policies that make innovation safe and scalable.

From an inspirational perspective, say my advice would be to lead with curiosity and courage. Technology will keep changing faster than policies can. So boards need to embrace learning, stay focused on students, and view AI not as a threat, but as a tool to advance equity, transparency, and opportunity to be at the forefront of this new technology.

Jill Holtz: Love it. Jay what's your advice?

Jay Worona: Well, I don't know if I can do any better than what James just said. I do believe it's about trying to balance the use of technology and keep our focus on what this is really all about. I know that in our personal lives and our personal financial lives, we try to be very mindful to make sure that we're not getting ripped off, right? And I guess I would say that school board members when they're looking at this technology, they should treat it the same way they would in their own personal affairs, trust but verify. And if we don't end up verifying, that becomes extremely problematic.

Jill Holtz: I love that. So I want to thank you both very much for taking the time out of your busy schedules to talk to me. I've really loved hearing your thoughts on the topic and thank you again for sharing your expertise and advice.