School board out of touch in Iowa City

Abraham Lincoln said, 'With public sentiment nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.” I wonder if some members of the Iowa City Community school board understand the importance of this thought.

After last year's difficult and contentious passage of the revenue purpose statement and diversity policy, I hoped the community would heal and come together, dedicated to our children's education and district.

I thought that certainly after the election and the addition of two new board members, we were headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, I'm really starting to have my doubts.

Recently, when the board did not allow concerned parents and teachers to speak on the elementary attendance areas, the image in people's heads is disappointingly clear; the blatant arrogance of the board leadership and total disregard of the public is astounding.

As parents, we want to support a district striving for the highest level of achievement for all students with open and thoughtful communication. This is the only way to bring people together, gain trust and move an agenda of action forward.

What is common among students, teachers, and parents alike is the continued frustration with our school board. The complaints are the same this year as they have been for some time.

The board simply doesn't listen, creating a lack of confidence that its members truly have our children's best interest at heart.

The controversy surrounding the diversity policy, the redistricting of our schools and the budget cuts was not primarily based on people's lack of understanding the need for change. We realize our good fortune to live in a growing, unique and vibrant community.

The overarching problem, however, is how our school board is floundering at leading the district through these challenges.

I remain an optimist, so I firmly believe those who reach for public service do so with the best of intentions. However, this board continually demonstrates a lack of basic empathy and understanding of how our district and its people operate. They don't seem to be learning from their obvious and recent mistakes.

Keep in mind this is the same group we're relying on to help effectively advocate and lobby our legislators to stop the widening gap of funding from Des Moines. If we can't get our own house in order, why would a rural legislator from the other side of the state support our cause as well?

Without changing course, I'm concerned the school board membership will only sabotage themselves and take our children right along with them.

Gaining the confidence of a large and diverse community isn't going to be easy, but it must be a daily priority if true long-term success is going to be realized.

That said, let's light the signal for the 2015 board election. Calling all candidates!

' Joshua D. Sabin, North Liberty, Director of Administration/Public Affairs for Iowa Northern Railway, is a member of the Penn Elementary Parent Teacher Organization. Comments: jd160012@yahoo.com