Sparse. That's probably the best description regarding the attendance of a Fayetteville Board of Education round-table meeting held July 8 at the Woodland Junior High School cafeteria. Scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month, the discussion was the first of a series of six planned meetings designed to allow the public to interact with board members and learn about issues facing the district.
A grand total of five patrons bothered showing up for the first of these informal talks.
Readers are right to detect a note of sarcasm. It's true that people have a million things to do in the summertime, and that there will be future meetings and opportunities to discuss a variety of issues with current board members. But hopefully these sessions will grow.
Just think about the stories appearing on our front page lately. From the school district's ongoing efforts to hire a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Bobby New to discussions of moving Fayetteville High School to a different location and selling the old campus for tens of millions to a willing suitor (quite possibly the University of Arkansas ), there are a lot of things to sit down and discuss with willing board members these days.
That's why it's a little disappointing that just five people bothered showing up.
Still, board member Tim Kring said he had expected a small turnout. "It needs to build," he said of the board round tables. And he's right. One doesn't hold a session like this and gauge success only on the number of people who show up. Ultimately it's all about the quality of the exchange that takes place. It's a good investment of time by school board members, and hopefully they won't be discouraged by this first attempt at community involvement.
Having said that, the public needs to give serious consideration to showing up next time (as well as the time after that ). One of the problems with public bodies is that citizens often show up only when they're deeply upset with some proposal or key event. A lot of understanding and influence can be achieved when communication happens away from those heated moments. Moments of real depth are possible in this format, which is why it matters so much.
Over the next months, school board members may learn that these sessions would be more effective in a different format, a different time schedule or a different place. Hopefully low turnout won't stop these meetings and they will continue to evolve.
Are we to assume by this month's low turnout that the overwhelming majority of people have no problem whatsoever with the school board's attempts to move the high school away from its present location, or that they just don't care ?
We're hope not.
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