By Mary Souza, July 29, 2008 |
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Guts and Glory: The Start of Something Good
It takes guts to stand tall in front of an angry
crowd; to be the target of frustrations and accusations. New
Superintendent of CdA Schools, Hazel Bauman, has
done just that recently. Four times. She has not
only survived these experiences, she may have kick-started
one of the most positive chain reactions this community
has ever witnessed. At least I hope so.
Hazel took over the lead
role in the district early last month, right on
the heels of the second failed school facilities
levy in three years. Communication
was low and public trust even lower. Some staff
members walked and the budget was in trouble. And
there were numerous letters to the Press demanding
change.
What's a new boss to do? Well, Hazel sized
up the situation, pulled on her big girl shoes and
stepped out front and center. She organized
four public meetings in various places and at differing
times so people of all schedules could choose to
attend.
Hazel stood in the spotlight,
taking any and all questions. She did not shy away from tough
subjects. She did not point fingers or blame
others for the problems of the district. She even
said "I don't want to bait and switch",
so she carefully answered questions directly. While
she did have various staff members in the room, Hazel
was the only one in the line of fire, a role she
handled with respect and patience.
The audience is the other
half of this story. I
attended the first and last of the four meetings,
which took place over the course of about two months. The
first meeting was tense going in. Cautious
looks, hushed voices. No one knew what to expect. Everyone
was polite but you could feel the public's burden
of unanswered questions and the district staff's
fear of the unknown.
Those first citizen comments
were intense. Reasons
for the levy failures were offered, listed, discussed
and underscored, again and again. Process,
communication, accountability, fiscal restraint...the
parade of complaints slowly turned to suggestions. Everyone
behaved themselves and the meeting ended with a sense
of hopeful caution and modest relief.
News articles, letters
to the editor and blog comments after the first
meeting reflected some optimism. I
received reports from people who attended the next
two meetings and their feedback was increasingly
positive. Then a surprising event occurred.
Completely sidestepping
tradition, Hazel announced the formation of a Financial
Advisory Group for the district, comprised of a
handful of experienced citizen volunteers. These retired experts from business
and financial careers will assess the status and
needs of the district and advise the leadership. What
seems most exciting is the members of this group
appear independent; they are not the same names so
often seen on local committees, commissions and boards. Fresh,
objective viewpoints.
The final of the four meetings
took place early last Tuesday morning. What a contrast with
the first. You could feel trust building in
the room. You could sense respect flowing
both ways. Attendees were anxious to be part
of solutions, offering ideas on many subjects like
finances, class configuration and future land acquisition.
The meeting ended with smiles, congratulations, handshakes
and chatter. Hope.
Follow through will be
carefully monitored; caution lingers on the side,
but something is happening. Something
good. Could this model of open dialog meetings,
respectful listening, exchange of concerns and ideas...could
this work for other issues in our community? The
Educational Corridor, LCDC urban renewal, CdA's city
budget crisis, the proposed new county jail and administration
building, and more?
Hazel's experiment has
been a resounding success so far. The public is ready to embrace positive
changes, engage in honest process and become part
of the answer to our local issues. CdA area
leaders, please follow Hazel's lead and take the
risk. It could be the start of something very
good for us all.
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Dear Newsletter Readers,
Above is the column that
was in Sunday's Press. After
it was submitted to the editor last week, there was an important
meeting at the school district office. I was invited
to participate in the small gathering of three auditors, the
district treasurer and Hazel. I was included because
I spoke up at the first community meeting in June, asking for
a detailed audit of the district's finances, and I'm sure also
because my newsletters and columns reach many people.
My column, above, was positive and supportive of Hazel's
new direction, so I was hoping the finance meeting would follow
the same pattern of answering questions and pursuing honest
answers. I was not disappointed. Hazel and district
treasurer Julie Day, seem determined to examine past decisions,
mistakes and inefficiencies. They want to improve the
way the district uses our money and they pledge to keep on
listening. That's a good sign. An extensive financial
audit along with a performance audit of management decisions
are both being seriously considered. Let's hope these
actions are approved by the Board and move forward quickly. There
is hope in the world. Have a great week. --Mary
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Mary Souza has been a concerned citizen
of CdA for over 20 years. She's a local small business owner,
former P&Z Commissioner
and wrote an opinion column in the CdA Press on local issues. Her
opinions are her own.
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