When the process works at a school board meeting
I will admit to telling my editors I'd rather be locked in a room with Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay than have to attend the Sept. 14 Geneva School Board meeting. Hard to believe as it might be, I could've been wrong.
Why, at the end of the two-hour public hearing on the 2009-2010 budget I wanted to jump out of my chair, pump my fist in the air and shout "the process works." But that wouldn't have been dignified for someone of my immense stature.
About 150 attended the hearing and my esteemed Genevans again refused to let me down. Sure, there were pointed speakers on both sides -- mostly those upset with the board -- but the conversation was polite and respectful.
And it should have been. School board members don't get paid for the vast amount of time required and, though no one did, threatening to vote them out is a lot like threatening to stop beating someone with an aluminum baseball bat. I understand no one put a gun to their heads and made them run, but let's try to keep a tough job in perspective.
Once the meeting was under way, I wasn't surprised by the cheers for those speakers unhappy with the board. But what did surprise and trouble me was the equal and opposite reaction when two district defenders took the floor.
Thirty-five percent of the crowd consisted of District 304 employees and, while I understand frustration with frustrated taxpayers, their overly loud applause for district supporters made me nervous. There were to be no winners that Monday night.
What was the district thinking when they passed out 111 "procurement" credit cards to various D304 staff? In this economy those restaurant charges just can't look good. Walking through the well-appointed Williamsburg School to get to the meeting provided striking evidence of Geneva's "Cadillac" mentality. And I'm talking all of Geneva -- it just rubs off on the district.
So when the last speaker left the podium and it was the board's turn to talk, I feared a rapid descent into an us-versus-them mental bunker. Instead, the board pleasantly surprised me with their reasonable response to the sometime verbal onslaught.
Most board members echoed a sentiment similar to Bill Wilson, who said they would make every effort to "... come forward with a budget next year that is a meaner, leaner budget."
They also good-naturedly chided Genevans along the lines of, "Where have you been all our lives?" Tim Moran said, "Prior to this year we've always had the luxury of approving a budget in a meeting where nobody came."
Upon hearing that my immediate internal response was, "Oh, so we have to be here for you to be more fiscally responsible," but before I could even finish the thought I answered myself with a resounding, "Yes, we do have to be there."
And it's not because the board has any insidious motives. The effect I'm talking about is much more like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which states you change a phenomenon simply by observing it. If the only in-person input the school board gets is from the district, then it's human nature to tend toward that sole observer.
I'm not saying D304 schemes in private either, but entities like tollways, county boards and school districts tend to develop self-preservation instincts. One must concede most of us, when left to our own devices, tend to be driven by self-interest.
Ah! But when Geneva citizens come to school board meetings armed with cogent comments, then the board sees both sides. The process works because balance has been restored.
Board member Matt Henry, a distant relative of Revolutionary War hero Patrick Henry, said as much in a post-meeting conversation. "There were too many rumors out there," Henry said, "The board enjoyed the opportunity to have a face-to-face discourse with frustrated taxpayers."
And they heard you! Board President Mary Stith told me, "We are looking into our policy on district-issued credit cards." With virtually the entire board committing to attacking the 2011 budget with renewed vigor, it's up to us to hold their feet to fire.
Henry also told me, "You can't turn an ocean freighter around on a dime," and he's right, so let's keep 'em honest, but continue to be reasonable.
Of course, my fear is this mass appearance by Genevans will turn out to be a one-time thing. If that is the case and nothing changes, then we'll have no one to blame but ourselves.
jeffwardsun@sbcglobal.net
