Public Must Be Part Of Process

When the Spokane School Board hired Superintendent Gary Livingston, it asked him to open the schools to greater public involvement. That was a wise and timely priority.

Like all government institutions these days, public schools hear calls for reform. The many concerns have as much to do with the families and the society from which kids come, as they do with educational methods.

We can’t think of a better way to address these concerns than together, as a community, with open, participative democracy - the very approach Livingston and the school board want, and have demonstrated in important ways.

Since Livingston arrived, he and the board have flung themselves into an intensive outreach effort. They attend numerous PTA meetings, visit schools, hold a regular TV call-in show, invite critics onto advisory committees and have held hearings and surveys as part of a long-range planning exercise.

Praiseworthy as all this listening is, there’s one more step in participative democracy: Converting suggestions into policy. Debating. Making choices. That is the school board’s job. State law requires boards to conduct their discussions and decisions at formal public meetings, with times, places and agendas announced in advance. Yes, it’s awkward. But a government that wants the public’s advice won’t get it for long unless its deliberations - the pivot point in democracy - reveal that advice at work, causing a change in attitudes and policies.

Debate has come slowly, like a shy child to the blackboard, at meetings of the Spokane School Board. Last year members made 200 decisions, all unanimous. Without a doubt the conscientious, committed volunteers who serve on this board do hear and respond to public concerns. Some of their debate and deciding apparently occurs on the telephone before meetings, and on the district’s task forces and advisory committees.

Complicating the appearance this creates, a quorum of the board has gathered informally in its office before meetings, and on one occasion met for a lunch where an item of business, a board member’s resignation, was discussed. When the Spokesman-Review reported this, district officials insisted nothing improper occurred or was intended, repeated their commitment to openness and pledged to erase any untoward appearances. We applaud that commitment. It’s consistent with the board’s important direction.

As the district continues its drive for public participation, we hope members reveal, at meetings, more of the thought processes that lead to their conclusions.

Doing so will encourage the second and most important part of participative democracy: The public’s part. Spokane has fine schools, as anyone who spends time among students and teachers realizes. We can make them better, if we all work together.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board