|
|
| Opinion |
|
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION:
What are you doing on Spring break? Any favorite Spring break memories?
E-mail your response to oologahspeaks@sbcglobal.net.
LAKEVIEWS
By John M. Wylie II, Publisher
APATHY AMID POLITICAL MANIA
At the national level, where an individual can't do much to affect public policy, we are experiencing a political frenzy beyond anything we have seen in years.
The airwaves abound with scenes of angry citizens expressing their views.
Yet at the local level, where each individual can have far more impact, we face political apathy.
Early this year, our school district unveiled a massive bond plan. We had concerns because there had been little or no advance notice to average patrons or taxpayers until the scope and projects were almost set in stone.
We said the public should have had a chance to offer input before the bond issue was rubber stamped by the school board as a done deal.
Those who crafted the bond plan pointed to past citizen apathy. They even reworded the agenda so that the board could get public input and split the bonds into multiple packages if that seemed appropriate. The district did its part.
But almost no members of the public showed up at the special board meeting where the decision was made.
Those who said district residents would not take the time to participate in the process were proven right.
It gets worse. School officials set up three public forums to explain the issue and field questions.
The events were at convenient locations in all three regions of the district, and were well publicized. Yet turnout for the first two forums was miserable, and there's no reason to expect anything different for the third session, which will start about an hour after this commentary is completed.
The vote April 6 is very important. It will mark a huge investment in public education, create jobs, and make our school more attractive to new residents.
It will also raise taxes at a time when many residents are already struggling or even drowning financially because of the recession.
Surely getting educated about the pros and cons is worth an hour of the average citizen's time. Democracy is not a spectator sport. Citizens can't be successful in performing their civic duties if they don't show up for work, and so far the vast majority of citizens haven't shown up for work.
We hope that changes before Election Day. We hope citizens will get informed. And we certainly hope that this issue will be decided through the participation of a majority of the district's voters, not the pathetic handful who have voted in recent elections.
We're still studying issues and asking questions about the main bond package. The newspaper has provided space for school leaders to share their ideas. We plan more news coverage of the proposals. We will do our part as a newspaper to provide information to the community.
This is a test for our community. We will pass if there is a large turnout of informed voters. If not, we'll get a grade of F and deserve it.
SENATE REPORT
By State Sen. Sean Burrage
Click here to download.
CHEROKEE CHAT
By Cara Cowan Watts
Click here to download.
OKLAHOMA'S HOUSE
By State Rep. Chuck Hoskin
Click here to download
TAD BIT
By State Rep. Tad Jones
Click here to download
|
|
|
|
