As the “Gateway Sustainability Task Force” begins its work this week, I’m hopeful that the district’s management (administrators and school committee) and the towns’ elected and appointed officials can begin a serious, fact-based, collaborative and reflective dialogue. If we can move beyond perceptions perhaps we can begin to address GTAC’s mission statement, which states in part, “by offering communal and sustainable solutions to shared local challenges.”
Representative Pignatelli spoke about the need to look at solutions for the long-term challenges of an area that is losing population and indicated that we need to look at ways that both the schools and towns could move beyond ‘what is’ and think about ‘what could be’. He did not specifically focus on either education or town government but rather on the whole picture, including economic development. Much of the supporting information from GTAC for this approach may be found in the Talking Points developed by GTAC’s organizing committee in August that again mentions the towns, the district, and economic development among its goals.
These are daunting goals that are well worth pursuing but the process requires a degree of openness, trust, good will, and an ability to suspend certain ‘perceptions’ in order to take an unbiased look at reality. To move forward in unison necessitates an agreement to review the underlying facts; to establish basic protocols including ways to handle disagreements; and a process to publish the agendas, minutes, and factual basis for discussion as an ongoing part of reporting to the general public in a manner befitting the Open Meeting requirements. It is also important that everyone have an understanding that the various professional roles of the participants have a basis in policy, regulations, and law that cannot be superseded by the task force. This must be an open and transparent process that will allow not only our local constituents to understand what’s happening but also to allow state level policy makers to view the process as unbiased, factual, and collaborative in nature.
I’m also hopeful that the process, as well as the Gateway 2025 Visioning Process being undertaken by the district, will garner increased participation and support from students, parents, staff members, and community members. Decisions that may impact school and town operations must be openly discussed, understood, and supported by more than just a few select members of the general population. Town meetings, certainly one of the most democratic of our political institutions, should be attended by more than just a minimum percentage of the voting population. Perhaps these processes can be a starting point to a serious review, and rejuvenation of, the citizen-driven town governance that has been an historical part of the success of small towns. As government regulations and processes become more cumbersome and better suited to large cities, it will become ever more important for the average citizen to understand the complexities and to step up to the plate in volunteering for service in our towns’ governance so that the majority can once again work for the common good.
