I’ve often said that school board members aren’t active enough in lobbying state and federal officials on matters of education policy-or in reaching out to local citizens as the community’s education leaders
I’ve also said that I know darned well that it’s not really fair to criticize board members for that fact-because we all know how many hours they already devote to school business.
How much more can we ask of them?
I can’t answer that. But I can suggest you read the April issue of American School Board Journal and look at the recent work of school leaders in Volusia County, Fla.
They’re speaking out. They’re working with their state associations to support statewide lobbying efforts to stop any further deep cuts in education funding, and they’re meeting with county officials and citizens to rally them to the cause.
Admittedly, their efforts are spurred by a crisis-the school system has lost $50 million in revenue in the past two years, and some predict another $37 million to $44 million could be cut next year.
That’s too much,” warns Superintendent Margaret Smith. “We’re at the breaking point. We have nowhere to go if we’re to maintain our quality of instruction.”
But what’s noteworthy is that school officials aren’t sitting back and accepting whatever budgetary fate is decreed by state leaders. They’ve been holding public hearings for citizens to explain local budget decisions and the need to lobby state lawmakers, and they’ve convinced county leaders to set aside their lobbying priorities and make education funding the central message they send to the state capitol this year.
Such efforts are paying off. City mayors in the county agreed to rent buses to take community members to the state capital to make themselves heard. School board Vice Chair Candace Lankford remembers sitting at one public meeting when a county leader spoke passionately about protecting public education.
“I had tears in my eyes when I realized my fellow elected officials saw the detriment to what’s happening in education funding in Florida and were willing to go on a limb to support the school district,” she says.
It’s inspiring that, when county school officials are devoting so much time to dealing with their own local budget headaches, they’re still finding the time to be strong education leaders-for their community and for their state.
And their message is one that should not be ignored: “The paramount duty of the state is to make adequate provisions for a high-quality education system,” Smith says. “We’re saying: It’s your responsibility. We want to work with you, but you can’t say you didn’t have any funding to help public education.”
Del Stover, Senior Editor
