Glimmers of Hope

Monday's Board meeting was contentious. Teachers are particularly upset with cut-backs at the print shop. With only one person working there, and only on a half-time basis, teachers will only be able to print around 85 pages of material per student for the entire year. Teachers in attendance spoke eloquently to the detrimental effects this will have on students from kindergarten through AP History. Over the past few years teachers have increasingly used copied materials to make up for the lack of text books and readers. Cut-backs at the print shop translate directly into lack of instructional materials for students.

Another bone of contention was the proposed changes to the meeting format, particularly the public input portion of the meeting. The proposal called for individual Board members to meet informally with small groups at the start of each meeting, to listen to their concerns, to reconvene for the business portion of the meeting, and then adjourn to a work session in which Board members would summarize what they had heard in their small groups and discuss those issues with the rest of the Board. Many of those in attendance perceived this as an attempt to silence public criticism rather than as an attempt to improve communication.

As part of the proposed reforms Board members will also "adopt" a school to visit regularly and get to know the staff and students there by volunteering their time in classrooms and other activities. When a teacher asked when the Board would begin to interact and communicate with the community (and yes, asking questions is against the rules but this question was very grudgingly allowed), two Board members became very upset. Their "How dare you criticize us?" attitude does not play well with either staff or the community. This would have been the perfect opportunity to ask the teacher, "What do you have in mind? How do you think we can accomplish that?" Instead, they launched into an angry and defensive tirade.

If they truly want to improve communication they need to sit down for honest heart-to-heart discussions with the various stakeholders in this district. The Board needs to move beyond their comfort zone and start asking people what they want - something they have never done. What's wrong with collectively brainstorming solutions to our current crisis? Without that, whatever they decide is going to feel like an imposition rather than a solution.

So what were the glimmers of hope?

1) The Board directed the superintendent to re-visit the issue of print shop cut-backs and find the money to restore this essential service. I doubt this made the superintendent happy and I see it as a sign of assertiveness on the part of the Board. They listened to the teacher's arguments and they directed their employee (the superintendent) to make it right. Good for them!

2) The second glimmer came from the suggestion of a Board member to allow for on-the-record public comment at the end of each meeting. This is definitely an improvement over the proposed changes as originally presented although it doesn't go far enough. If the public can't comment before business is concluded then they will not be able to affect the decisions that are made. Commenting at the end of the meeting would negate the very responsiveness of the Board that I identified as my first "glimmer" above. Hopefully there will be further deliberation on this before a final decision is made.

Parents and teachers alike know that criticizing children for bad behavior needs to go hand-in-hand with praising them when they are good. The Board deserves credit for listening to concerns and trying to respond to them. I think they do genuinely want to rebuild trust with the community. They are not always sure how to do this. Help them in this process by letting them know what you think. We criticize the Board for failing to supervise their one direct employee, the superintendent. We need to ask ourselves - Are we providing guidance and direction for our employees/representatives on the Board? If not, it's a good time to start!