Tom Coale in his blog HoCoRising wrote this yesterday about citizen engagement in the budget process:
To allow for meaningful engagement, you need two things - 1) Clarity of issues, 2) Results. If you can't explain the process and underlying factual basis for decision-making, engagement is an illusion. Any engaged citizen will quickly find that their budget request will have more shelf-life if they can recommend corresponding revenue or budget-savings to pay for it. The next, much more important, element is showing citizens that engagement works. Time is valuable and engagement can quickly turn to frustration without some evidence that time was well spent. We will not agree on every issue, but we need to show citizens how their participation affected the process.
I am going to reframe that in terms of the School System and the Model Schools initiative:
To allow for meaningful engagement, you need two things - 1) Clarity of issues -- If you can't explain the process and underlying factual basis for decision-making, engagement is an illusion.
Question: Do you feel the Board of Education and Central Office have adequately explained the process and underlying factual basis for moving to the Model Schools initiative?
2) Results -- The next, much more important, element is showing citizens that engagement works. Time is valuable and engagement can quickly turn to frustration without some evidence that time was well spent.
Question: Do you feel that meaningful citizen engagement was encouraged? Do you feel that your efforts in trying to communicate your views were treated with respect? Was your time well spent?
We will not agree on every issue, but we need to show citizens how their participation affected the process.
Question: Do you feel that your participation affected the process?
In summary:
1) Do you feel that we have enough data to make this change, and was that data clearly and fully explained to stakeholders?
2) Was stakeholder engagement actively encouraged, respected, and treated as meaningful input?
3) If we elect the Board of Education, aren't we entitled to this level of citizen engagement?
If you continue to have serious questions, make your concerns known. In addition to writing the Board of Education, please write County Executive Ken Ulman, and the County Council. Now that County Government has stepped up to tout this initiative, it means they are also responsible to citizens for its implementation.
Is citizen engagement in the school system real? Or merely an illusion?
It's time to find out.
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