Along with governance

Hi everyone~,

I don't understand the structure of the sentence underlined below, esp. the connection of the "along with governace". Where is the phrase "along with governace" connected to? Is it like this?

-- The board would focus on students as their top priority and focus on governance.

And what does “It” refer to in this context? The school board?

Thank you~!

I said, “Many of the interview questions from the school board were micromanagement in nature. I want assurances from the school board that it will not try to micromanage the superintendent.” After the chair discussed these issues with his colleagues, he assured me the board would focus on students as their top priority along with governance, and they would leave the day-to-day operations of the school system to me and the staff. In fairness to the board, they felt like the administration and staff members were doing a good job of educating students, and they wanted to make sure the adults were being held accountable. These were critical and nonnegotiable issues for me. It helped establish the atmosphere for an honest, open, trusting, and productive relationship going forward.