Civics 101

Wednesday night’s BOE Meeting (5/18/11) was a beacon to how democracy works. The school board rarely draws a packed house; last night was an exception to the rule. The bulk of folks showed up to decry the possible loss of an iconic music teacher.  Kathleen (Kathy) Gabriele who has taught chorus for 22 years and AP Music Theory since 2003 is the victim of declining enrollments in Music classes.

Person after person testified, sometimes with tears. It was quite moving. Belvedere Elementary was also there. They are losing a 5th grade teacher. Class sizes will start to bump to the 30-plus mark for children used to 25 in each class. They had 25 or so folks out to support their speakers; Severna Park HS had 50-plus easily, and many actually spoke. Annapolis parents asked about changes to the IB program, as their children move from middle school to Annapolis High. Issues that had come to light at the Annapolis High PTSA Meeting on Monday (5/16/11). CAC folks came out to advocate for both sides of new policy changes proposed by the BOE.

Severna Park's outcry, so moved Council Chair Dick Ladd, that he jumped into his car and drove down to lend his voice (he was watching the meeting on TV live). He was reminded quickly that the County Council now holds the purse strings.

So where is the Civics Lesson in this you may ask?

It is in the voice of the people. Show up in great numbers, speak passionately, and change the course of your regularly scheduled meeting. Two hours into the meeting, we were still listening to testimony. It remains to be seen what Severna Park's outcome will be, or Belvedere’s for that matter. What came of their efforts was clear though, they were heard. IB parents in the Annapolis Cluster were heard too. CAC folks got some testimony in as well. None of it was on the agenda, Board Policy allows for public comment each meeting, as long as it is not on the agenda. Items on the agenda must be commented on during that items turn. You get 3 minutes, 5 minutes if you are speaking for a group or organization.

Change is difficult in the best of times. But add a downturned economy, a downsizing county government, furloughs and layoffs, and you get a recipe for serious consternation. The point here, besides the old adage “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”, is that you have a civic responsibility to be informed and involved. There is no good excuse for not keeping up with the basics.

No matter what your passion, your children’s education, or how you’re hard earned tax monies are spent, you only have you to blame, if you don’t speak up. You can look online, you can read the newspaper, attend a few County Council meetings or a Board of Education Meeting. Better yet join your local PTA; you don’t even have to have a child to join! Look no further than your local school. Advocacy can be contagious.