Transparency issue clouds school board's vision

At last Wednesday’s school board candidates forum, all four candidates agreed that confidentiality is required while discussing personnel matters. They are right, of course.

Whether considering retaining Georgia Johnson or finalizing Superintendent Whitney Meissner’s evaluation, reaching these decisions must be done behind closed doors.

That is not a breach or a masking of transparency but standard operating procedure for any employer-employee interaction.

The larger issue that staff and residents are insisting on is engagement and participation. Once decisions are made, residents are right to ask questions, provide their perspective and share their astonishment. They are also right to expect responses from their elected leadership.

The school board’s silence at summer’s start and their statement of “Expectations for Public Comment and Questions” at September’s board meeting disappoint many citizens, the board members’ constituents. Residents want their public comments to start a dialogue. They attend these meetings to hear board members, officials elected by them. They look to their representatives to discuss and debate agenda issues and explain why they are supporting and passing an item.

The September board statement on public comments has the goal of conducting business meetings in a “professional and congenial manner.”

Residents interacting with their elected officials are asking to be heard. Having taken the time to show up, citizens want a response.

A decent respect for the opinion of mankind, as the founders wrote in the Declaration of Independence, requires decent participation between constituents and elected officials.

Congenial is nice. That trait might have a role in and be at the start of democractic engagement, but vigorous, heated and even contentious debate are more necessary ingredients. Congenial may not lead to problem exploration and eventual resolution but instead may mask and delay solutions. Congenial may be an initial handshake but it is not at the heart of debate or even discussion. Congenial is tidy. Residents and staff have shown that a vibrant democracy is gloriously messy. Congenial may slow progress, preventing or delaying hard questions from being asked.

Residents and staff are not asking for the school board or administration to be nice to them. They want to know they are being heard. They want to hear from school board members in public meetings. They want their elected officials to actively participate with them and show by their public actions that they are working for them.

Nice isn’t the goal. Genuine engagement is a two way street. Citizens and staff want the school administration to walk the path with them, not for easy agreement but for authentic conversation and mutual results.