Last Thursday’s public comment period had a number of interesting moments while teachers were chastising us for not putting a bigger compensation proposal on the table.
But there was one moment that stood out in my mind as surreal. Which was when we were warned the teachers would turn us out of office if we continued to behave the way we were behaving.
I give the speaker points for knowing that we don’t get paid, so our livelihood isn’t at stake. Instead, we were reminded that serving on the Board is an honor bestowed by the community on us, and we ought to be careful about risking that.
Me, I’ve always assumed people voted for me because of what I’ve done, and not done, and said I’d like to do. Not to honor me. I appreciate the trust they’ve placed in me, but it would be a lousy payback on their vote if I started doing things because I might lose my position as a trustee. Instead, I owe them the best job I’m capable of doing, no more and no less. And if they ever collectively conclude I’m not doing the job they want done they should get rid of me…and I’ll be happy to go.
I don’t believe any of us are in it for the honor and prestige. Heck, as former trustee Norm Whiteley once said, hardly anyone in town knows who we are when we they run into us on the street or the soccer field. I know we’re not in it for the money, because there isn’t any.
No, I’m there, and I believe all of my colleagues are there, because we want to make education better for kids.
And maybe because we’d each like to give something back to a community/nation that has given each of us so much. That sounds corny, but I know it’s a factor for me, and I suspect it is for the other trustees, too.