My attendance at the recent facilities committee of the Bethlehem Area School Board left me not very hopeful about the survival of Broughal Middle School--although I am going to do my best for the fine old building.
I was, however, absolutely convinced that,if the school board is to function in the public interest, it needs much more public oversight than it has likely been getting. This idea was confirmed when a friend of mine, intelligent and civic-minded, turned out not to know how school board members are chosen. The process of school board elections evidently has become as arcane to the citizenry as the election of judges.
Considering how much influence these chosen few exert on the life of a community, directly or indirectly, it ought to be known who they are and what they stand for. I know they are not paid, not even the relatively nominal sum Bethlehem city council members receive. They are awash in papers and hedged about with regulations; and I know at least three who have quit in utter frustration after a term or two. n.
Nevertheless, there still are plenty of people who hunger for the job. Under these circumstances, it would be well if the public knew what the motivations of each candidate are.
Last Tuesday I felt that we, the citizens who had come to speak on the Broughal issue, were facing a rather dysfunctional group of public officials. Mr. Amato, the committee chairman for the meeting, began by megaphoning (figuratively speaking) his disapproval of those who had come to speak for Broughal. This was only his first round. Other people also were vociferous in their opinions. Citizens came close to being accused of being liars; for some, the line may have been crossed. Most insulting, from my point of view,was the insinuation that the Broughal advocates "cared more about an old building than about the children."
Board members also attempted to browbeat their own colleagues. It was like the British Parliament, minus verbal elegance.
Dr. Haytmanek, the school board president, simply sat there, for the most part. Likely this was because it was Mr. Amato's meeting, not his; and intervening would have constituted a breach of Roberts' Rules of Order--but then, everyone else seemed to have thrown RRO to the winds; and what would one more violation have mattered?
I do wish to compliment the board members who seemed to be trying to do their duty against the uproar. There were two of them.
Wouldn't it be nice to vote them some company next time?