There’s an app for that
Windsor Unified School District has a new app available for download. The app launch is in conjunction with a brand new website that is much easier to navigate, if I do say so myself.
Stearns is sticking around
At the school board meeting last night it was announced that current Mattie Washburn principal Lisa Joseph has decided to retire, and that Julie Stearns, current principal of the soon-to-be-shuttered Windsor Creek Elementary will be taking over the top spot at Mattie next year. That should be music to the ears of the many concerned parents who listed Stearns as the heart of the school when detailing their fears about the reconfiguration.
Don’t be a passive complainer
As an regular attender of public meetings I’ll admit to being more informed than the average bear, but I’m often shocked at how passive the average citizen is. Does that sound snarky? It’s meant to. I recently listened to a board member at a public meeting attempt to inject additional dialogue into the interface between public bodies and their constituency.
When the various ways those pathways already exist were enumerated for him, he became frustrated, as equally frustrated as the other board members who kept pointing out all the communication opportunities available to the public.
It was clear this board member’s heart was in the right place, but democracy is not a spectator sport, and the reality is if people can’t be bothered to put in some effort then they won’t get their say. Board packets for public meetings are published in advance and they are stuffed full of information. There are various boards and committees for every possible activity and viewpoint (and they often go begging for commissioners).
People like to complain. Loudly. But very, very rarely do they follow up those complaints with actual action. If I had a dollar for every person who said they were sending me a letter to the editor about a topic they were mad about, and then never did, well, I wouldn’t have to work at the newspaper anymore.
Public bodies do want to hear from their constituents. They want active partners in the process. What they don’t want is chaos, and thus there are polices and yes, the dreaded bureaucracies in place, to help facilitate non-chaotic communication.
It’s fine to be mad. It’s probably even important. Just make sure you actually do something, rather than just complain, and educate yourself about the process.
Heather Bailey is the editor of the Windsor Times.
