Yes, You Can Make a Difference

In my , I spoke of the importance of getting involved and taking an active role in monitoring our public officials. I imagine, though, that many doubt what they can do. They might think that no one is listening or perhaps that they are not in a position to make a difference. It's true that if you were trying to convince the President of the United States or the Congress to change direction, it would be a tough fight. As public employee unions found out recently, even with large numbers, sometimes a fight doesn't go your way. While the loss for unions in the legislature may have been a loss for them, what about for the many people who supported pension and health benefit reform in the public sector? Maybe for some people it is possible to make a difference.

Once you get down to the local level, however, I truly do believe it is possible to impact change. Unlike at the legislative level, where there are too many politicians to convince, or the executive level, where an individual constituent is unlikely to get an audience with a governor or President, at the local level, state law permits greater involvement. The Open Public Meetings Act requires that in Woodbridge, the Municipal Council and the Board of Education must set aside a portion of their meetings for public comment. If you attend the meeting and have something to say, you have the opportunity to make your point.

Sure, you can talk. Many people talk.  But I know some of you still don't believe it can make a difference. Here is a little of my story. I started attending Board of Education meetings because I was upset that the Gifted and Talented Arts program was cut for budgetary reasons. I felt that there were other areas of the budget that should be cut first and I spoke out to defend my daughter and other students who lost the program. For a year, I spoke on the issue periodically and nothing was done. Then during the most recent budget season, it was added back to the budget along with other programs. Did I make a difference there? I can't read the intentions of the administration or the Board members, but I can unequivocally state that I kept the topic under discussion. 

During the same period of time as the elimination of G&T Arts, elementary courtesy busing was cut from the budget. This busing was provided to elementary students who were not mandated to be provided busing due to their distance from their schools. With the school year quickly approaching, many parents realized for the first time that their children were no longer being bused. A large group of parents showed up at a Board of Education meeting and the Board quickly reversed course, reinstating elementary courtesy busing. Although some of those parents spoke out, most didn't. Their greatest impact was simply their presence in large numbers. 

My final story occurred recently. In April, it came to my attention that the Woodbridge Board of Education nepotism policy did not comply with State regulations, which required a new policy more than two years ago. I brought this up at public comment during the April meeting. Because a few meetings passed with nothing mentioned about this policy, I brought it up again, this time with further proof as to my point that the law required this change. Before I was finished, I learned from the Superintendent that they are meeting with a new attorney to draft a new policy. Evidently, action started based on my comments in April before I even spoke a second time.

What does this mean for you? If you have something on your mind, speak up. If you are uncomfortable standing in from of the Board of Education or Municipal Council either because public speaking is not your forte or you are uncomfortable when meetings are on TV, attend anyway. If you get a chance, speak to the various members individually. When an issue is of great importance to you, as courtesy busing was to some parents, simply showing up in solidarity can make the biggest point of all.

At the end of the day, no one will get their way on every issue and it wouldn't even be desirable to have our governing bodies respond to our every whim. After all, they are elected by their constituents to do what they believe is right. But it's nice to know that if we feel we can help guide them, that occasionally we can convince them to do our bidding.