School Board Hopefuls Seek Jobs Few Would Want

Signs are appearing in yards around the county. No, not only spring flowers and grass that already needs a clipping, school board election signs.
These are indications that a select few people actually want to reach out and become part of an educational system that is in dire need of all the help it can get. It is a laudable goal, thank goodness there are those who seek that office.
I cannot imagine why anyone would want to inflict the unpaid seat on a board of education member upon himself or herself.
It is a personal choice, just as is cream in coffee or licorice over chocolate.
Having attended many board meetings, it seems there is relatively little the elected body can do that is not dictated by the state Department of Education.
Few from the public, it seems, ever attend a board meeting with a smile on their face. They go, rather, with something on their mind, and it is often a contentious matter. Their child was reprimanded while others were not. The school bus won’t go an extra half-mile to drop off a grandchild. A favored sports program of which their child is a part is about to be trimmed, and they want answers…NOW!
The board is under the gun to produce geniuses of every child, regardless of ability, and with flat state aid.
The tax paying public holds board members personally responsible for raising their taxes to fund education. They are liable to be snagged by irate people while shopping, at sporting events or in the bank as they take care of business.
It’s not just one meeting a month, oh, no. Members find themselves on various committees, like staff negotiations, building and grounds, extra curricular activities and of course, finances.
They are forced to look at budgets that contain hundreds of line items for everything from pencils to computer programs. And because they live with budgets, they are under increasing stress as they realize they are the ones, elected by the majority of their peers, who must decide what to spend and what to cut.
The dilemma at Middle Township’s Elementary No. 2 is a prime example. The roof leaks terribly, but there isn’t really enough money in the budget to fix it correctly. Would it be allowable to “rob Peter to pay Paul?” What will not happen if the leaks get fixed?
In a perfect, pre-crash world, the board would likely be contemplating a referendum for construction. It’s not only the roof that needs fixing, you see. The state is still deciding whether or not to mandate full-day pre-kindergarten in the very near future. When it decides, the board in Middle, and others, too, will have to seemingly twitch their nose and produce classrooms for maybe 325 children.
Plug that need into the pending budget that still must go before the public on April 21, the same day as the board election.
Given the economic times, what can we expect the public to do regarding that, or any, school budget? Will the electorate approve the budget, or deny it? In rejecting a budget, the public forces the board to take its budget before the local governing body for reduction. Once made, those reduction recommendations are made, they can be accepted or contested. If contested, they may ultimately go before the state Commissioner of Education. That person can, if persuaded, restore the reduced items, if the board can show they are necessary for a thorough and efficient education.
While it’s been done, it leaves a bad taste in the community’s mouth, much like winning the battle, yet losing the war.
Board members can be as active as they wish in school matters. Some visit buildings to see classrooms in action. Others attend sporting events or various school functions.
It’s good to do those things, since they keep members in tune with the ones their actions are most affecting, the children and the teachers “in the trenches.”
I’ve heard from some board members their frustrations on how slowly changes may take to implement. Since they only approve policy, they cannot dictate. That is left to administration.
Litigation looms around every corner. Labor woes are part of the landscape. The telephone is liable to ring at any time producing all sorts of grief.
Regardless, faced with all these detracting facts, there re main a group of citizens who attempt to answer the call to public service on a school board.
To those who find it easy to criticize a board, its policies or budget, my advice: Next year, fill out a petition, run for election, learn what it’s like to be on the school board.
Then, and only then, will you have earned the right to castigate your peers.
They perform a thankless job all for the benefit of the next generation.
The least we, the voting public, can do is take
time to cast a vote on April 21.