Every now and then, elected officials get it right. Sometimes, “getting it right” means changing your mind. Recently the trend has been to call politicians who have a change of heart “wafflers,” “flip-floppers,” or worse. I’m not going to use any of those pejorative words to describe the recent actions of the SWG school board, who changed their minds in regards to the “pink slipping” of Mrs. Lisa Coder, 7-12 vocal teacher. I’m going to use words like “brave” and “forward-thinking” and “compassionate.” Yeppers—the school board got it right when it reversed its decision and decided to rescind the termination of Mrs. Coder.
Under a great deal of public pressure and media scrutiny, the board decided to offer Mrs. Coder a 75% percent position, instead of eliminating her job entirely. This means that my children and your children and the entire community will continue to enjoy the genius of Lisa Coder—at least for another year. And that is a good thing indeed.
This is not to say the situation was handled perfectly. There were plenty of threats, rumors, and downright untruths floating around in the weeks leading up to the May 12 hearing. But, in the end, our elected officials listened to the people and did the right thing. Bravo.
It seems like a good time to state the obvious: the folks that made this HUGE decision are ELECTED officials—which means they choose to run for the office and we, the citizens, vote them in. Quite frankly, I know a lot of people that are more than willing to complain about elected bodies (like, gee—I don’t know, city council), but aren’t willing to put their name on the ballot and run for office. I can’t say I blame them. It is indeed much easier to harp and moan, than it is to actually govern a city or school district.
However, the time for sitting on the sidelines and pointing out the deficiencies of various elected boards and councils is past. If you don’t like the way the school board handles budget issues or you think the city council needs to get off their butts and do a better job of fixing the streets—time to get your name on the ballot. Or—if you don’t want to do that—go out and recruit someone who you think would do a great job. Offer to help them campaign and support them in any way needed.
On the reverse side, if you feel appreciative of these folks that basically VOLUNTEER to be “on call” for irate citizens night and day and who spend hundreds of hours dealing with the issues, let them know. I know personally as a city councilperson, “thanks” are few and far between. “When the hell are you gonna fix my street?” comments, however, are plentiful.
Supporting elected officials can be as simple as voting for them. Did you know that only about 6% of Iowans even vote in school board elections? That is ridiculous when you consider the power these folks have.
I would really like to see some new faces on the local ballot this fall. Quite frankly, I would like more of the faces to be of the female variety. I know I am going to do my part to recruit some strong, compassionate women to serve our public on various councils and boards. One thing’s for sure—they’d better be strong-willed if they want to survive their term of office. If there is one thing I’ve learned in the past four years, it is local government isn’t for the faint of heart. I thought I was a pretty tough broad, but I’ve been in tears more because of city council than I have because my children. Public meetings can sometimes turn acrimonious. Heck—there have been screaming matches at the park board meetings, for heaven’s sakes! It is small wonder that fewer and fewer people want to run for local public office. There’s very little glory in it—and a whole ton of headaches.
Perhaps if we as a people tried to keep the civility in our civil discourse, more people would be willing to step into public service. The parents and students that protested Lisa Coder’s pink slipping were perfect examples of respectful civil disobedience. No one screamed; no one threatened, everyone followed the rules—and they (for the most part) got the results they wanted. It is so nice to see the system working the way it is intended.
Yay!
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