Last night I had a new experience, I attended my first School District Annual Meeting. Now hold on, (I can hear your growns and see your eye rolls from here) just hear me out. Truth be told, I was expecting to make it about a half an hour before I would be board out of my mind and looking for the nearest exit. I am a staunch supporter of public education and have been a part of several school's parent group organization boards, but I have always shied away from getting involved on the school board level.
Over the past few years I have been involved with a district parent leadership group and the facilitator has urged the members to attend the annual meeting. I have always had conflicts on the nights of the meeting, honestly I did not try very hard to not have a conflict on those evenings, but this year was different. Decisions were made at last years meeting that caught my attention and I wanted to witness the Annual Meeting process for myself. When I first walked in there was a table with 2 handouts and a 54 page meeting booklet, I almost turned around and walked out, but then I recognized two student's faces on the front cover of the booklet. I was reminded that the decisions made at this meeting would effect both of them, as well as my own three children, so I decided to tough it out.
I found several people I knew and decided to sit with them. It was interesting to hear the different reasons why each of them were there; one was a teacher and a parent of four, one a guidance counselor and a parent of three, one a principal and a parent of two, one was "just" a parent (ha, like there is anything "just" about that job, that is the most important role in the teachers, guidance counselors, and principals lives too). Anyway, we all had something we were there for, and at the outset the tax levy seemed like the most important component that would be discussed.
I quickly found out that witnessing and participating in democracy, true local representation of the people, was the most important component of the meeting! At first there the School Board President welcomed everyone, read the legal notice of the meeting, and presented a few awards to outstanding citizens that served on Board Committees last year, then he turned the meeting over to the electorate. This was not a School Board meeting, it was a meeting of the Electorate of the School District, a very big and meaningful difference. The first order of business was to elect a Chairperson to run the meeting. The chairperson came from the audience, from those of us out in the cheap seats and was elected by the same. My voice vote mattered.
The guy that was elected Chairperson wore a t-shirt and cargo shorts and the first thing he said after getting on stage, behind the mic, was "Ok, I have never done THIS before." I was instantly put at ease, I would be learning this process right along with him. Now, he had school board experience and had attended this meeting in the past as a member of the board but he was flying into new territory as the chairperson. The next thing that caught my attention was the District's lawyer (oh hum) and parliamentarian (zzzzzz) who I actually found to be very interesting. Following Robert's Rules proved to be far more intriguing, at least in this setting, than I had expected it to be.
The budget was discussed, the impact on the district and students, the effects of changes in enrollment, and the resulting tax levy to fund it all. There was time for questions and comments form those in attendance. There was even a moment when a person from the audience made a motion to change the agenda and move the vote on the tax levy near the beginning of the new business section. Another example of when my voice vote mattered.
Happily the proposed tax levy passed, even garnering a few compliments to the School Board for their hard work. Many of the audience member left at this point and a few other items were discussed. Near the end of the meeting there was a group of parents that brought an issue on bussing to the table. A heated discussion followed and the parliamentarian pulled out his big book and referenced sections of law and rule that governed such things. It was decided that the issue would be postponed until the next meeting of the electorate. Once again my voice vote was counted.
In the end I walked away from the experience being amazed by the democratic process. The power of one voice joined with another voice, joined with another voice, etc... I was glad that I took the time out of my evening to participate in a healthy debate on the importance of school funding and quality of educational experiences for our next generation. I was pleased to see so many of my fellow neighbors and residence feeling the same. There was one gentleman there had has been at every School District Annual Meeting for the past 32 years! Talk about dedication to the next generation! I hope that by sharing our experiences we can interest more people to be involved throughout the year and especially at next year's Annual Meeting.
So..... What are you involved in? What things at first seemed mundane but now peak your interest? What are you so passionate about that you would be involved with it on a regular basis, for 32 years?! What are you doing to share those things with others?
My prayer for today is that each of us knows and understands the power of our individual voice. I pray that we feel empowered to share our thoughts and feelings with love and compassion. I pray that we strive to make the world a better place for those around us. I pray that we make ripples in our communities, ones that will reach farther than we can imagine.
Until We Meet Again,
Drea
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