- By Dan Veaner
- Opinions
Print 
Last week the Board Of Education (BOE) voted to change their meeting night from the current second and fourth Monday of each month to the equivalent Thursdays. The issue was that board member Christine Iacobucci had a change in her job situation and could only meet on Thursday or Friday nights. Most other board members expressed discomfort with changing it, some saying it would be difficult, though not impossible.
Board member Tom Keane was the most eloquent, noting that the BOE has been accused of not being transparent to the community, and that moving to Thursdays would make that transparency worse. He argued that with busy schedules, sports, concerts and just middle-of-the-weekness that fewer people would be able to attend BOE meetings and participate in the process.
Indeed this is an issue that has frustrated board members significantly this year. When the first school budget failed Dan Brown noted that few taxpayers had attended meetings until it became so controversial that it couldn't be ignored. Ironically Iacobucci herself has often accused fellow board members and administrators of not being open enough to the public. Given the political reality that she is often vocally opposed to board initiatives and sometimes seems to be opposed to colleagues I was a little surprised when the whole board voted to change the date.
But I was conflicted. On a purely personal note, new issues of the Star appear at a few minutes past midnight every Thursday. This is a Mom and Pop outfit (I'm the Pop), so Thursdays are miserable for me, frantically pulling together an issue, desperately hoping that (gasp!) news won't interrupt my desperate sprint to put the paper to bed. BOE Meetings are typically long, sprawling affairs (if I end up in Hell I imagine it will be an eternal BOE meeting) that often end, I imagine, after midnight. I usually stumble out after I think the news portion is done -- that is frequently in the 11 o'clock range.
But on a more noble level my opposition to Thursdays is this: my ability to cover School Board activities in a timely fashion vanishes beginning August 24 when the Thursday meetings begin. I have argued to Board President Bonita Lindberg in the past that there is value to the public and the BOE in having the Star there to report on their activities, especially in light of the criticism of opacity.
Still, I thought, 'How can I complain? It's my problem, not theirs.' And I thought, 'How reasonable for those six other board members to accommodate the changing schedule of a colleague, especially one who often seems difficult for them to deal with.' And the final whammy: the BOE used to meet on Thursdays before they switched to Mondays.
I am fascinated by what readers pick up on each week because it is often something unexpected. This week people talked to me about the proposed sewer district (expected) and... Thursday School Board meetings. The issue was transparency. Uniformly the people who brought the topic up were outraged that the BOE would meet on a night that is so difficult for so many people, especially, they said, parents with kids in the schools. A Town Board member asked me rhetorically if I thought that body would change its meeting time if one of them, who knew the schedule when running for election, suddenly couldn't make that time, then said 'No' in case I thought otherwise.
If it weren't for the matter of Hell Thursday I suppose I'd be on firmer moral ground to take the high road on the issue of the BOE reaching out to the public to keep them informed and involved in the process of how our money is spent on providing the best possible education for our kids. I do believe that to be important, and I do believe that my ability to report in a timely fashion helps our community, because not everyone can go to all the BOE meetings.
But I also acknowledge that these are seven volunteers -- Board of Education members are not paid as Town and Village Board members are -- who allowed themselves to be elected into thankless positions requiring an enormous commitment and responsibility.
But on the other hand they are elected officials...
OK, that's three hands so far and I could come up with several more if it weren't Thursday. I have to stop with the hands now and finish putting together the issue. If I am successful and can get it done by dinner time I can reward myself with the Ageless Jazz Band concert in Myers park. That's something I won't be able to do any more, once Thursday BOE meetings start, so I'd better savor it!
----
v2i28