In Tennessee, a school board member walks into her son's school and starts asking detailed questions about school operations. Is she a concerned parent or an overly intrusive board member? In Missouri, a board member openly criticizes a policy his board colleagues have passed but that he voted against. Is he dutifully representing a constituency that opposed the policy or creating undue strife within the board and the district? In New Jersey, a board member's wife proposes a charter school that would compete in attracting students within the district. Should her husband acknowledge a conflict of interest? These questions are among the thornier ethical issues that can pop up at any time in a school district. The author suggests that for school boards that are unprepared, such issues can be disruptive and divisive, taking energy away from more pressing issues of school governance and operations.