There will be an important Bethlehem Area School Board meeting--I believe it is once again of the facilities committee--on Monday, February 5, at 6:30 pm at the school district offices, 1516 Sycamore St.
The meeting is important for two reasons. First, citizen leaders seem prepared to present a reasonable, last-chance plan for saving Broughal Middle School. Second, even if you think you are not interested in that, and in the millions of dollars it could save the taxpayers, you might want to observe the behavior of the school directors.
I have no idea what that behavior will be.
Will the board be on time? Or will they keep the citizenry waiting for three quarters of an hour, as they did a few weeks ago? Will they allow those who have come to see them in action (and who, after all, are the real owners of the facilities in question) the chance to speak? Or will they throttle discussion, restricting it to a begrudged few minutes?
Will they cut off those citizens who do get a chance to say a few words, and even come perilously close to accusing them of lying?
Will they be unconscionably rude to their more moderate colleagues? Will they pretend they have never heard of "Roberts' Rules of Order"? (Maybe some of them haven't!)
Will they, in fact, make the whole meeting one more dysfunctional power play?
I don't know, because this meeting hasn't happened yet. All I can say is, this is what I've seen before.
If this is what YOU see, mark down the most egregious offenders and let's vote against them in this year's primary and general elections.