One of the learned truths of governance is that all politics are local. Thank you, Tip O’Neill, for the lesson. Our local school board often gives credence to this wisdom and uses the phrase, “What will Sally down-the-street think of this?”, when considering a controversial issue. O’Neill and Sally remind us to think locally, even on large and major questions. (Sally is a non-gender term for a local citizen.)
There are 421 public school districts in Wisconsin. Each district is founded by WI statute and each district is accountable to state statutes and DPI rules and regulations. With a smile, no two school districts are exactly alike. Each district today is the result of the actions taken overtime by its local school board to meet both the requirements of the state and the wants, needs, and interests of the local community. Are these differences a strength or weakness in our public education system? Neither, they are just a fact.
Sally down-the-street is a wonderful concept for a school member to keep in mind when contemplating a vote of the board. These versions of Sally live in that ethos.
Does Sally know? There are many questions about which Sally will say “I didn’t know” and that is both an okay and expected reply. In our community, about 30% of households have a child attending our local school. Less than 50% ever had a child a child attend our school. Most Sallys have not had a direct connection with our school district other than paying their annual school property tax and hearing about school events in the news. Sally will not know about most school board decisions.
Does Sally care? Honestly, not much given the statistics. However, the Sallys who are school parents care deeply. This means that the care factor represented by Sally speaks for a minority of the households in the school district BUT may speak for a goodly number of those households with school children. The care factor has two elements – school families and non-school families. Each is a valid care factor.
Is this a loud Sally or a quiet Sally? Welcome to local politics and a second proverb – “the loudest squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Actually, the proverb is “the loudest squeaky wheel gets listened to” and the rest of the quiet wheels just roll along unnoticed. The voice of a loud Sally cannot be ignored, but it can be understood with the history of who this person is and the nature of the Sally squeaks. It is best to pay attention to loud Sallys but not let them overrepresent a constituency.
How many others does Sally represent? Sally may be a solo or an ensemble voice. Social networking puts Sally into instant and constant communication with all other Sallys. They talk, listen, and reinforce each other. When a Sally speaks, board members need to pay attention to the echoes from others and observe any virtual nodding of agreement. Groundswells of Sallys can rise and abate quickly.
How can we best inform Sally? Communication is a two-way responsibility. The fact that Sally may not know or care about an issue does not lessen nor negate the board’s responsibility to communicate with every Sally. The best practice is to assume that no one knows everything about an issue or has paid attention to the board’s discussion of the issue, so over educate the public – 100% of the public. And, keep informing the public. An informed Sally regardless of opinion benefits school governance.
How will this effect Sally? Sally “the parent of a current student” will understand and feel direct effects as a decision impacts daily school for a child. Sally “the parent” will also feel the same community effects as all Sallys, but the immediacy of response make this Sally “the parent” as a primary concern. The board needs to understand immediacy of effects in their decisions on Sally “the parent” and this Sally’s constant immediate and constant interaction with the board. Sally “the parent of a graduate” will understand effects as a vestige of a former relationship with the school and as a non-parent community member. Decisions that effect the Sally “who has never been connected to the school” will be felt in the general conversation of taxpayers and more generalized over time. However, if a decision brings this Sally to a school board meeting, every board member needs to sit up straight and pay attention.
The pandemic has provided school boards with everyday and repeated lessons that all politics are local and that the several versions of Sally-down-the-street are a good measure of how well local decisions are playing out.