Board should discuss openly

Editor’s note: This is the third and final in a series of commentaries regarding the possibility of closing one or more schools in Jay County because of financial difficulties.
“That’s certainly an option,” Jay Schools superintendent Tim Long said last week when Pennville’s Joe Vinson suggested having a town hall type meeting on the future of Pennville Elementary School.
Trouble is, it’s a suggestion Vinson first made as far back as a year ago and no such meeting has yet been held.
Individual school board members have said they want input on a decision as difficult as the closing of an elementary school in the face of financial constraints and declining enrollment. But while they may have heard from constituents on a one-on-one basis, the notion of a forum or series of meetings has never gotten off the ground.
While the issue of potential school closings has been facing the board for months, there’s been next to no public discussion or debate by board members.
They seem to have been listening, but it’s hard to tell what they’re thinking when they play their cards so close to the vest.
Superintendent Long, who clearly believes that the closing of some schools and movement of some students is the right way to proceed, has at least been forthright in making his thoughts known. From the outset, he has said that his role in this situation is to identify what he believes to be a problem and recommend options for addressing that problem. Beyond that, any decisions are up to the board.
Have board members ruled out any of the options that have been floated by the administration for the past several months?
Have board members asked the administration to go back to the drawing board to find budget-cutting alternatives to school closure?
Maybe. But if it’s happened, it’s been behind closed doors.
Public debate and discussion by the board have been minimal at best.
What’s needed is — here’s an idea — a town hall meeting in Pennville followed by similar meetings in Redkey and Dunkirk and Bryant and Portland.
The purpose of those meetings shouldn’t be to sell any particular plan but to involve the public in the decision-making process.
Then, after that sort of “listening tour,” board members need to step up to the plate and have a candid, honest discussion, spelling out their positions. Then, and only then, should a vote be taken.
That’s the way to approach this if all those words about being a countywide community are to have any meaning. — J.R.