Shared Governance or Good Ole Boy Network?

Some naysayers believe that having the support and camaraderie of other elected officials and governmental entities is a bad sign. They are suspicious of any and all connections. But I have some news for them. The new train of thought is towards the shared governance model.

What! You mean there are others who are saying what I’ve been saying all along? Well you shouldn’t be surprised. Great minds think alike.

Just what is shared governance? It is a way of working through the decision-making process by involving all of the entities affected by an event or a policy or a procedure, bringing them all to the table to share ideas and making an informed decision for the betterment of the community, without the waste of double work or the inconvenience of ill conceived implementations. For instance, Milford Elementary. If the county and the school board had a better relationship and had been working together and communicating, we would not have ended up with a county dump, a gun range and a major arterial feeder road all being built too close to a school, too close to make parents feel that their children were being taken care of and were going to be safe coming to and going from that location.

Another example that comes to mind is the recent teacher layoffs, or RIFs. If the school board had been working well with state authorities, policies and laws could’ve already been on the books to protect our teachers form this type of shock and emotional rollercoaster of being laid off only to be rehired weeks later. For instance, Allatoona High School. All of the coaches were “let go” because all were less than two years in tenure……but the school was only two years old!! If the communication channels had been open between administration, state level officials and the school board, that snafu could’ve been avoided.

Recently, I was the only Cobb County candidate in attendance at the June 17, 2010 Education Policy Forum put on by the Georgia School Boards Association and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. Here are just a few quotes from the GPEE:

*Within communities, individuals and organizations should create community partnerships to focus on education…..
*Through the strategic allocation of state and local resources, schools should serve as the center of communities....
*State leaders must launch a public outreach campaign to encourage collective responsibility for education in the state and begin the difficult work of changing a culture of low educational expectations.
*Local community leaders should host forums to discuss the status of …education…….Students, parents, educators, business representatives, elected officials, faith-based leaders and others should be invited to join in the discussion.
*Parents, community members and local business owners should be actively engaged in the work of improving … education by attending public meetings that address education, becoming familiar with locally-elected officials and actively participating in the election process.


So, as you can see, prominent organizations and other entities that truly understand what is required to bring our schools and students into the 21st century, agree that shared governance is the key to surviving this current economy and seeing our children excel and seeing our communities come together for the betterment of the whole. This isn't "good ole boy" politics, it is simply what we all learned in kindergarten...."play pretty together." We will all benefit!!