For years I’ve been using that phrase to describe most school boards both here in NH and around the nation. They run to be elected to represent us in managing the education systems in our local areas on our behalf but once seated, they deign not to speak to us again.
Especially during the pandemic, I watched people go up to the mic to address their school boards only to get an icy, silent response to their concerns. I can’t tell you how many times single Moms, doing everything they can to keep their families working, address those SBers about their disabled kids only to start crying and turn around in shame because none of their representatives were listening and certainly not addressing their concerns.
I’ll be honest, I grew to just taunt mine of this to make them see the pain they were creating for others simply because once being elected, they collectively believed that they didn’t have to respond to the public.
I sent the following to another education activist because you take the wins that you can when you can them – it looks like the EISFMSs, at least here in Gilford, are starting to realize what is expected of them:
Persistence pays off – but it took 2.5 years to get it done. Was just perusing the new and revised policies for SAU73 for Monday night’s School Board meeting. School Board members will now answer questions from interested people during Public Input:
BEDH – PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AT BOARD MEETINGS The Board encourages citizens of the district to attend its sessions so that they may become better acquainted with the operation and programs of the schools and that the Board may have the opportunity to hear the comments and suggestions of the public…
<snip>
Members of the Board are without authority to act independently as individuals in official matters. With the approval of the chairperson, a question may be answered by an individual Board member or administrator
Heh! – “They know not what they do” – or have done or about to do”. Maybe. As I said during my first term on the Budget Committee, when the Town Administrator and Finance Director (Evans Juris and Debbie Shackett) tried to force a “Code of Ethics” upon us as elected officials, the attempt was really to shut up myself and another person. My response was “I didn’t hang up my First Amendment Rights once I got elected, AND I sit in my BudComm chair” – I wasn’t going to sign it.
Sidenote: Years later, I now know that neither of those dunderheads had the Power to do that, as there is no RSA (NH Law) that allowed them to do so. Didn’t hurt that I caught them plagiarizing that CoE even as they boasted it was their work, so they dropped it.
Finally, “interested people” will not only be able to speak to have ” …the Board may have the opportunity to hear the comments and suggestions of the public”, the public is going to have the chance to figure out what school board members know and are thinking as well.
This should be interesting Monday night.
