A case study examining Chief Business Officials' view of essential leadership skills in Colorado and Illinois

School business officials oversee the districts' implementation of policies and adherence to laws, and ensure the proper use of resources, such as state and federal funds through the preparation of budgets and union contract negotiations. The research suggests that Chief Business Officials (CBO) from states with stringent oversight policies place a greater value on technical skills than visionary leadership skills. This case study examined data from the 2007 Leadership and Technical Skills for School Business Officials (LTSSBO) survey in order to determine whether CBOs from a state with stringent oversight (Illinois, n = 76) would differ from CBOs from a state with less oversight (Colorado, n = 51), in their perceptions about the role of the position. The findings of the study suggest that although technical skills were rated slightly higher with CBOs from Illinois (a state with high regulatory oversight policies) over Colorado CBOs, there was no significant difference. In addition, the findings also suggest that while the Colorado CBOs (a state with low regulatory oversight policies) valued visionary/leadership skills slightly more than the Illinois CBOs, the difference was not statistically significant. Factors other than state mandates that may influence CBOs' perceptions about leadership are briefly explored and implications for future research are suggested.