As is often the case when it comes to dealing with the frivolities of local public servants, I find myself betwixt and between two adjectives.
"Amazed" and "perplexed" come to mind...problem is I don't know if I'm amazed because I'm perplexed or if I am perplexed because I am amazed.
The bottom line? It's probably a little bit of both with a healthy heaping of "confused" thrown into the mix.
As a few of you may know (but not probably many) there is a school board election in Fort Smith later this month with two positions that were up for grabs.
One of the sitting members did not draw an opponent so she skates back into another term on the well-oiled back of voter and public apathy. The second sitting member did draw an opponent...but more about that in a second.
As a citizen, voter and news person, I find myself constantly in contempt of our local officials to some degree. I used to hold out hope the majority of them had good intentions and were seeking to do the right thing for the will of the people.
Then I stumbled upon the stark reality of the situation and realized I was as delusional in that mindset as those very officials are when they think for one second they're important in the grand scheme of things.
I haven't had the same amount of dealings or interactions with our local school board as I have with, say, our local city administration and the rubber stamp board of directors.
That group is beyond repair, individually and collectively, and the only thing that is ever going to right that ship is voters getting as pissed about their shenanigans as they did the ridiculous effort to foist off a one-percent sales tax to fund golf outings and champagne salaries.
But I'm kinda/sorta on the fence about the majority of the school board. Despite the fact that my youngest child escaped the clutches of public education years ago and I am still forced through taxation to fund gang babysitting for other people's children. That pisses me off to some extent.
I understand the challenges that people who choose to serve on the local school board face. It's a thankless task that pays even worse than running a local news website (if that's possible).
Given that I no longer have skin in the game, and studying the Board of Education from afar, I can honestly say that the majority of them seem to be involved with the process for the right reason.
For the most part, unlike some other public officials, the majority (again) of the BOE seems to be in it for other than self-serving purposes. (Majority is in italics for a reason. There are skunks everywhere.)
But now I'm back to perplexed and amazed.
Someone sent me a link to an article that printed last week in the Daily Disappointment. (Don't get me started.) The article was concerning a joint announcement made by the two candidates whose seats were up for election.
Once again, one of the BOE members didn't even draw an opponent and was well aware of that fact long before the "joint press release", which I'm sure resulted in a few arm strains from all the mutual back slapping that went on.
Let's address the elephant in the room. There is no logical reason that there should have been a "joint" press release for these two candidates.
Because one of them wasn't even really a candidate, but just jumped on the others bandwagon in an effort to throw her support behind the one that actually was.
Not that you would have known that from the article since there was no mention of her opponent anywhere to be found.
Why even bother with an "announcement" unless there would be some reason you couldn't meet your goals if there "is still work to be done"? You're running unopposed. It's not like you need to reach the voters. The head line said "School Board members ****** and ********** seek re-election" when the truth is, one of them is already elected by default.
And maybe it's just me. But the litany of accomplishments these ladies hang their hats on seems to be more of a list of accomplishments for the BOE as a whole than just their individual victories. Where I one of the other members of the BOE, I might take offense at the inference.
The whole thing just seemed a tad awkward.
I get the announcement by the BOE member who is actually in a race. But if you are going to pander to one candidate without a mention of the other one, then why would you come back the following day---after being sought out by her opponent -- and run his announcement with her name in the second paragraph? Seems a tad obvious to me.
Did you not know she had an opponent? Was the slight to her opponent deliberate? Or was it just shoddy journalism? Probably a little of all three is history serves us correct.
It's tough running a Fort Smith daily from New York state. Kind of like running a Fort Smith website from Owasso, Oklahoma...but I digress.
Once again, I have very little axe to grind with the school board, the public schools in general or the local school system in particular.
Two of my grandkids are home-schooled and the third will be attending school in another town.
So good luck to all involved. As usual, it's business as usual.
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