Based on interest expressed in the Forum on an item on the school board’s meeting agenda, I thought there might be a large number of people attending the school board meeting tonight. Other than the board members, school administrators, two newspaper reporters, there were only a handful of people who attended, and it appears these individuals had other reasons for attending. I am not really surprised because I find that people do not generally care to attend these types of meetings whether it is school board or a city council meeting. This lack of attendance and seeming lack of interest is not unique to Eddyville, but is fairly common whether it is a small community or a large city.
There are many reasons for this lack of attendance which are too many to enumerate in a paragraph or two. But, let’s face it, most of these meetings are long and boring and some are held at inconvenient times. And, often times, it is hard for a member of the audience to make sense of what is being discussed because the board or council members are referring to a packet of information which they have in front of them, but the members of the audience do not have copies, and so it is hard to follow the discussion. And, besides, unless citizens have closely followed the issues, budgetary items, etc. and know what has or has not taken place in the past, it is hard to make heads or tails out of the discussions. There is an exception to this and that is if there is one issue that comes to the public’s attention which is unpopular or controversial, then the meeting room may be packed with people who want to express their opinion or protest certain decisions. How elected officials deal with these controversial subjects is also another topic for another time.
With all that said, I do want to comment on the school board and the issue of appointing a committee to look into the question of moving the middle school to the high school.
First, of all, I think we do have a good school board, overall; and the president of the board, Ed Glenn, is one of the best I have seen in presiding over a meeting following the generally accepted parliamentary rules.
Second, the issue of moving the middle school to the high school is a very complex issue and will require a lot of study. The pros and cons have to be determined, discussed and weighed. The board, itself, will not have the time to do this, so it makes sense to appoint a committee dedicated to studying this one issue. The board has taken the same type of approach before on a very controversial issue and with great success in the past year. The public was kept well informed, every step of the way, and they were allowed to voice their opinions at a public hearing before a final decision was made by the school board. I have confidence that the school board will do the same with this issue.
Unlike the city council, the school board is very open and receptive to public input. There will be times that the board members will disagree on issues, but that is good because it represents different views and different perspectives. Whether we agree or disagree with a decision, I believe that each board member is dedicated to doing what he or she feels is best for the school district.