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Democracy in Action at Champaign Unit 4 School Board Meeting |
Current rating: 0 |
by Brenda Koenig
Email: bakoenig (nospam) sbcglobal.net (unverified!) |
12 Apr 2006
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On Monday evening, April 10th, on a lark, I turned on the community access TV channel, which for me, like for many folks, is sadly too often one more channel to click over in futile pursuit of substantial entertainment. There, in front of a jerky camera, an African American woman was making an impassioned plea to the Unit 4 School Board to withdraw their proposal to hire armed police officers to patrol inside our community’s schools. I listened for a few moments, and then reached for my jacket and car keys, hoping that by the time I drove the ten blocks down to the Mellon building, she would still be standing behind the podium and it wouldn’t be too late to show some sign of support. I told my husband that it was something I had to do, because I was convinced she was there, alone, in her attempt to sway a formidable and unyielding wall of bureaucrats and administrators.
I was wrong. She wasn’t alone. Speaker after speaker, both black and white, stood up and made eloquent and emotional speeches that spoke to our community’s need to devise complex solutions for complex problems instead of resorting to the easy threat of force. They spoke of how we need to use our financial resources towards hiring more social workers, psychologists, support staff, and supporting teacher education and training as opposed to hiring police officers with weapons (and, to be accurate, it was the guns that were the issue here, not necessarily the presence of the police themselves). They spoke of implementing a peaceful schools initiative instead of resorting to intimidation. They spoke of using our resources to wrap around problem children, to try to reach them and let them know that they are valued and can lead empowered and meaningful lives. And the list went on and on…even those who stood in support of hiring police officers wanted some guarantee that the administration had a larger, more comprehensive discipline plan that, and here is the important part, would give the community a voice in the process.
And then I was wrong again. The wall of administrators wasn’t so solid after all…in fact it began to break apart. A ripple of surprise and anticipation swept through the audience. School board members disagreed. Those who were expected to vote yes came out against the measure (and vice versa!); in fact, and if I hadn’t been there I would have never believed it, school board members were actually saying that they couldn’t support something that so clearly needed “more community input”. Then, the final blow: Superintendent Culver looked out at the audience and said something along the lines of: It is clear that this is not what the community wants. More discussion won’t change that. I will not recommend the use of school resource officers. Period.
Say what you want about political maneuvering and self-interested bureaucrats. Say that next month the room could be packed with the pro-police constituency. That's fine and good. What I witnessed Monday night was democracy in action pure and simple. People showed up and their voices mattered. I can’t imagine any TV program could have been as deeply satisfying as that. |
Copyright by the author. All rights reserved. |
