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formational packets mailed to them for study a week prior to the Board meeting.
The results of Mrs. Massie’s role as the Henry Kissinger of the Rappahannock School Board were evident at Tuesday’s session. If not peace then at least a truce between the previously warring factions dominated the meeting. Tempers didn’t flare, the audience respected Mrs. Massie’s request to hold questions and comments until after business was completed and when she opened the floor, there was only one easily answered question.
There's a lesson to be learned here tli at the School Board can apply to its budget sessions.
Last year, parents and teachers were irate over what they considered a deliberate attempt by the School Board to exclude them from deliberations on the budget. To avoid a repeat performance this year, the Board should demonstrate as clearly as it did on the evaluation policy that it wants input on the budget.
A session for public comment has been scheduled but it will be held BEFORE the Superintendent has come up with any preliminary figures for the Board to consider. This should be the first—not the only—time set aside for remarks.
After the Board gets the preliminary budget from Dr. Bloomer, copies should be made available at the School Board Offices for a price to cover costs of paper and reproduction. The cost of the document and the effort required to pick up the review the budget before the Board meeting should separate chronic complainers from constructive critics. Then, those individuals who want to address specific items in the budget can register in advance with the Superintendent and be allotted a limited amount of time—possibly two minutes—for remarks and questions.
By adopting this procedure, Mrs. Massie and the School Board could allow all c itizens and teachers the courtesy of reviewing proposals on the most important decision that the Board makes—the amount of money set aside for educational programs in Rappahannock public school for the coming year.
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