This Election I’m Joining The League Of Women Voters To Help Organize Kettering Community Meetings

Here I am in my study. I took this picture using the built in camera on my iMac. Bill Duffield, editor of The Kettering Oakwood Times, asked that I submit a picture with my article (see below).

Two years ago I was a candidate for Kettering Board of Education. Now it is time once again to choose school board members. I’ve decided to this year not be a candidate, but rather to help, however I can, to promote community meetings.

In the election outcome, I made a pretty good showing, even though I came in last:

JULIE ANN GILMORE 8858 votes
GEORGE H. BAYLESS 7577 votes
JIM BROWN 5811 votes
FRANK C. MAUS 5706 votes
MIKE BOCK 4481 votes

But, overall — How Do You Spell Che Sera Sera? — the experience was frustrating.

In my League of Women Voters’ statement, here is how I presented myself: “Public education needs a big leap in quality — including a big leap in cost effectiveness. We need a ten year process of transformation that will result in a 21st century system of education. Community consensus is needed. Leadership is needed. The biggest challenge for the Kettering School Board is to lead the community in creating a shared vision of the future, and, in creating a well-thought out, long-term plan to bring that vision to reality.” I was wanting to talk about big ideas, but really didn’t get the chance, except for a few one-on-one discussions with several voters while standing in their front yards.

To communicate with the public, I printed some flyers for my door-to-door effort and bought a small number of yard signs. It was all self financed. I spent $700. My door-to-door effort covered only a small part of this large district. I would have needed thousands of dollars in order to communicate with all potential Kettering voters via just one piece of mail.

Interestingly, when the district wants to pass a tax levy, there is a committee that raises enough money for multiple mailings to Kettering voters. In a vitalized democracy, I’m thinking, there would be a committee that would raise funds to pay for effective communication that would help voters be informed about board candidates and about the issues facing the board.

Kettering is lacking a community structure that encourages and supports local democracy.  In my campaign, I was hoping for five or six public meetings, but the incumbents, as it turned out, refused to participate in more than one community forum. There was no penalty for their refusal. See: Incumbents’ Refusal To Participate In Public Forum Reveals The Weak State Of Our Democracy. My “concluding remarks,” caught in this you-tube, at our one public meeting, showed my irritation. As they say, cry me a river.

This year, rather than seeking election to the Kettering Board, I’m going to volunteer to help the League of Women Voters organize community meetings.

Today, I sent the article below to Bill Duffield, editor of The Kettering Oakwood Times, and he says it will be published next Thursday, July 28:

The Campaign For Kettering School Board Is An Opportunity For In-Depth Community Discussion

Four people have taken out applications to seek election to the Kettering School Board, but none have yet filed. Two of the five board seats are up for election this year, each for a four year term. The incumbents — Lori Sims and Jim Trent — both have taken out applications. Challengers to the incumbents, so far, who have taken out applications, are Frank Spolrich and James Ambrose.

In order to file, a candidate must have 150 valid signatures and must pay a fee of $30. The deadline for filing is August 10.

One purpose of this column is to encourage additional Kettering voters, who may be considering running for the school board, to take the plunge. Give me a telephone call (985-3737), and I will help you gather your signatures. A local school board election should be a time for a community to have an in-depth discussion about the future of their local school system, and, I believe, the more candidates the better.

In my thirty years as a high school teacher in West Carrollton, I was involved in many committees focused on improving education. As an officer in the local teachers’ union, I pushed in negotiations for a “Total Quality” committee that would study how the system itself could be changed. My experience taught me that the system itself is very resistant and positive change requires strong leadership from the top.

In Kettering, our system of public schools owns millions of dollars of Kettering property and every year spends, on average, $12,000 in cash on each student. It’s a simple question: How could these vast resources be best organized to accomplish better results?

As it is, the local board has hired an administrative team that has created a centrally controlled, bureaucratic, hierarchical system. In this system, teachers are tightly controlled via a “master contract” and enjoy few opportunities or responsibilities of an authentic profession.

If we could start with a blank slate and think through a better system, we would need to ask some key questions:  What is the purpose of this system? What is the purpose of public education that justifies coercive taxation? What is teacher professionalism and what is the system that would engender and structure such professionalism? What is the structure of a system that would inspire entrepreneurial zeal in teachers and students?

Futurist Ray Kurzweil, author of “The Singularity is Near,” predicts that compared to the 20th century, this century will experience 20,000 years of progress. It seems hard to believe, but all signs point to the fact that today’s children will live in a world vastly different from today’s. A fundamental question is: How do we build a system of public education that will meet the challenges of the future? We deceive ourselves into complacency to think current bureaucratic standards of school excellence have much meaning.

Two years ago when I sought election to the Kettering Board, I was eager to engage the public in meaningful discussion about the future of public education in Kettering. I found few opportunities to do so. There was only one public meeting. About 25 people showed up — friends and relatives of the candidates — and the format was stifling.

The campaign to choose school board members should be an opportunity for in-depth community discussion about important questions. Such discussion requires a lot of work to organize. This election I’ve determined to do my best to be active, not as a candidate, as a facilitator for community events. And, there is much to discuss– including the possible repeal of SB-5. Our chance for Kettering to be a leader in public education depends upon our capacity and desire to come meaningfully together as a community. I’ve joined the best organization I can think of to help with this endeavor: The local League of Women Voters.