Monday's Meeting - How It Works

Someone asked me tonight if the Public Meeting at Evergreen on Monday was just for folks from that area.

The answer is no, it is for all affected parents and it is important that we are getting our input into the Committee as soon as possible.

EARLY IN THE PROCESS IS BETTER
During the meeting last night someone on the committee made the comment that they can't consider folks concerns if they haven't given them the input - if you wait until the December 13 meeting at Brown to give your input, you have robbed the committee of almost a month of work considering your concerns.

BUNCH UP
They like it if a group from the school bunches together, it helps them bundle the concerns and not have to draw links from memory. I will show up as early as I can with a piece of paper that says INDIAN HILLS so we can gather in a common area, the intent isn't that I speak for you or vice versa, it just helps the committee make the logical connection about our school and area of concern.

SPEAK UP
If you plan on making a comment, please be sure to fill out a comment sheet, link is here. Even if you don't want to speak, fill out the sheet and turn it in.

Feel free to hold the comment sheet and read from it, it helps esp. if your emotions are running high. Be absolutely sure to turn the comment sheet into the committee afterward.

They ask for your name, the area of your concern (Indian Hills, Brown MS, Century) and what your statement is.

If you do chose to speak, they will record your info in the meeting minutes along with a summary of your comments but don't let that freak you out. Think about what is at stake.

BE REASONABLE
It can be cathartic to express how sad this makes you feel, what you think it will do to your home values, how senseless you think something is, wave your torch or shake your pitchfork, etc.

Fine, just please show the kids present that you understand the Indian Hills Character Traits:
Responsibility - Respect - Honesty - Integrity
Compassion - Courage - Patriotism - Civic Participation

The fact is, visceral reactions aren't relevant to the decision making process of the committee. They won't stop you from saying what you want, you will get lots of nods of approval from the rest of the parents, but your influence on the process will be almost nil. If you want to get something off your chest, send it to me on email and I'll post it here or I can show you how to start your own blog.

BE RELEVANT
The committee has been clear on what factors they feel are important to the process:

• What impact will the change make on the ethnic and socioeconomic composition of the student population?
• What impact in terms of “distance” will the change make on students and their families?
• Do the proposed boundaries provide for continued growth in the area?
• Are the proposed boundaries adversely impacting an area that has been repeatedly moved over time?

If your statements aren't relevant to those 4 questions, you aren't impacting much. That doesn't mean that your comments can't be emotional on those topics, one of the best comments from an Indian Hills parent last night was very passionate, moving and touching. It was also relevant.

Some of the most effective arguments from the meeting last night, in my mind, were the ones from folks being given long drives to distant schools and how that added gas money was going to impact them yearly. It is real data, it is objectively measured in terms of impact, and it is relevant to the committee's concerns.

If you think there IS a relevant question that the committee isn't considering, please be clear on what the concern is, why you think that it is relevant to the process for ALL boundary decisions, and try not to focus on just your little slice of pie.
[edit - bumped up]