I posted on Wednesday about a public hearing on the proposed Whitewater Unified School District budget. See, About that Public Hearing…. In that post, I offered a few suggestions for next year. (Hold the hearing at a convenient time outside of ordinary working hours, “Announce the hearing prominently on the main page of the district’s website,” “Place the entire budget proposal online, on the district’s website….before the hearing…”)
These suggestions are easily implemented. I know that they are, because only a day after I posted them, one finds that the district has announced three public sessions on a referendum to refinance school district debt. (Note: I don’t think for a minute that these sessions were in response to my post; I think they were made public because refinancing for a lower rate is an easier discussion than the budget discussion.)
Here’s a screenshot of the district website announcing the three sessions:
A few remarks about all this, with reference to the district’s budget proposal (and other topics).
Public discussion about the budget should be routine; when it becomes routine, it won’t be so difficult.
There are more important matters than the budget. I don’t think the most important, difficult, or interesting questions concern the budget. The highest topics concern the curriculum and policies of the district. If the budget’s too hard to talk about, then one has no reason to be confident about the district’s willingness to address more important maters.
Avoiding discussion of practical matters only exacerbates political opposition.
Political opposition is far more than a supposedly anti-school or possibly ephemeral pro-Tea Party phenomenon. It may be self-flattering to think that those who favor the status quo are defenders against unwashed hordes, but it’s just a silly pose. People likely oppose the status quo — including the budget — for different reasons. There’s no single, ‘anti-referendum’ or ‘anti-budget’ group. Opposition is diverse.
In my own case, I’m not part of any movement other than the long and proud libertarian movement. (I support the right of peaceful protests now, for other groups, as I did when anti-war protests were common a few years ago.)
People favoring limited government, individual rights, and free markets have been a part of this country’s history long before the present-day term ‘libertarian’ was coined. We were a part of discourse on this continent even before this beautiful republic was founded. We were here long before current political movements; we will be here long after.
Whitewater has lots of very sharp people who would be willing to debate these matters. I have always contended that most people are very sharp. It’s just a silly pose to think that a few, however situated, are the only clever people in town, a clique of ‘wise men,’ etc. Society and the things we enjoy from it do not rest on the shoulders of a few people, but on the skill and insight of many.
If people are frustrated or disappointed, leaders should first look to themselves and ask: How could I have addressed these matters more effectively? Hiding’s not an effective tactic. It’s an ineffective, counter-productive one. If, a year from now, disappointed voters reject one proposal or another, leaders will have themselves to blame.
It’s no longer enough to ‘get your message out’ through a few sympathetic outlets. There’s a naive idea that if an official relies on a fawning website or an obliging reporter, all will be well. Those days are long since gone, such as they were; no one has the ability to deliver one message and set one agenda. Status quo messages are either ignored, or ridiculed, outside of a diminishing number living within an echo chamber. In any event, readership and traffic numbers do not favor defenders of politics-as-usual in Whitewater. A message of independent commentary draws more readers than ceaseless cheerleading.
(Tomorrow, I will show how a recent announcement about Whitewater’s Innovation Center isn’t merely ineffective, but counter-productive, to the interests of that project’s proponents. I’m a critic of the project, and there are times when I think: I wish proponents would publish more announcements, as their notices about the project are so inartful, odd, and self-defeating.)
These are hard times for many; the easy way helps no one.