Many years ago I spoke for the first time before a public body. This was a short address to the Bethlehem Area School Board. I remember to this day how it felt; I shook all over. But I was among many citizens
speaking in defense of a Community Schools program that,I continue to believe, would have made Bethlehem a better community.
We didn't win; but we got something out of it. The community school for which I and many others volunteered--Donegan--got permission to try to go on, which we did for a while. I think that permission came from the School Board.
I do not remember, now, a single person who was on the board at that time; but I am grateful anyway. I am sure they had serious funding difficulties; and I am equally sure that we won the nod, rather than one of the other schools, because we managed to get out the most numbers. It did not prove Donegan Community School's superiority to the others. What it DID prove was that the majority of those board members felt they could not help us by retaining the whole program; but they WERE willing, having listened to us--really LISTENED to us--to give us a pat on the back and a shot at pulling it off.
In the end, we were not able to pull it off. Not every good cause manages to pull it off. That's the way of things.
As I write this--from a wheelchair, which was not an appliance I needed all those years ago--my most recent attendance at a public meeting also involves the Bethlehem Area School Board. I went on behalf of Broughal Middle School, being among those citizens who still hope to save that magnificent building. I hope our side is luckier this time; but my first--and, so far, only--contact with the current board and superintendent, Dr. Joseph Lewis, leaves me dubious.
Dr. Lewis from the first struck me as a man whose mind is made up, and who does not wish to be confused with facts. His board struck me (in a couple of cases) as subservient to him--and thus, like him, prepared to wreck things to prove they could do it--or else possibly afraid to annoy their colleagues.
I believe I have written about my attendance at this meeting before. It is only slightly excessive to say that, by the end of the evening, I was having fantasies about shaving off Dr. Lewis's mustache. It seems to contribute to his martinet air; and I felt he needed to be brought down closer to the level of the public whose money he is spending.
But first, I had to get to the meeting. And here I had to contend with a clear-cut violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. If AWD does nothing else, it does assert that disabled citizens should have access to public meetings. And it was clear the Board had no idea that I, or anyone like me, was coming. They should always expect disabled citizens. We have a lot of time to think about the way things are going in the world, and to try to do something about the situation.
Having aranged for a ride to the meeting site, I found that the meeting was to take place in a room three or four floors above me, in a building without elevators. I was pushing myself along in what I think is called a rollator; that is, a wheeled walker. Mine has a seat built into it, and is heavier than some. The obstacle seemed insurmountable; the logical thing to do was to cry.
Instead, I asked a security guard to haul the rollator up the stairs for me, while I grabbed a railing and hauled myself up. By the time I got to the level of the meeting room I was both exhausted and furious. To do them credit, the officials around the table seemed dumbfounded and upset to see me there. As well they should have been.
(To Be Continued)