I worked in public education for forty years. The longer I worked, the less I knew. Knowing what you don’t know may be the most important thing to know.
Public education is a challenging career. You deal with the two things that matter most to parents, their children and their money. Everyone has been to school, so they have an opinion regarding how schools should be run. As students, they were either successful or they weren’t. Both paths helped them identify their beliefs on how schools should operate. They offer you unsolicited advice they would never share with another professional. They won’t tell their plumber how to fix a toilet, an attorney how to prepare a brief, or offer tips to their surgeon prior to open heart surgery, but everyone knows how to run a school because they’ve attended one.
A couple dozen years ago the Britton-Macon Board of Education asked the community to vote on a bond issue to help upgrade the facilities. I don’t recall how much we were asking for or what we intended to do with the money. I do remember that we had to seek the State of Michigan’s support so they would stand behind the bond should Britton fail to pay the debt. Our team made of the architect, construction manager, and bond attorney, helped me present our case to the State’s representative, Mr. Kelly. He told us that he would conduct a site visit to confirm that there was truly a need in Britton. We set a date, and he came.
Upon arrival Kelly said to me, “You need to convince me that I should support you.” I pointed to the hallway tile floor that had worn through to the concrete, and then invited him to walk to the end of the hall and look to his right. He walked the fifty feet as I had asked, turned to his right, and saw the corridor made of unfinished two by eights, with a metal roof, metal sides, and a gravel floor. He turned back to me and said, “I’m convinced.”
The bond issue was placed on a ballot and it failed. It doesn’t matter by how much because losing is losing. I knew of a district in a neighboring county that lost such a referendum when the final vote was deadlocked in a tie. In that instance, the superintendent’s wife failed to vote because she was home with the flu. Had she voted, the measure would had passed.
In another district, a bond issue passed by one vote. A recount confirmed the tally and the district built a new high school. That high school is the newest school building in Hillsdale County. Students from surrounding districts have opted to attend under “schools of choice” because it’s the county’s most modern facility.
When our issued failed I found a note on my desk the following morning. It read as follows:
Thank you for all you have done and tried to do. Some of us pushed to have the superintendent live in the district thinking this would encourage him to care more for our school. We have now learned that you are committed because of who you are, not where you live. No one could have worked harder seeking funding and improving our school than you have. What an improvement!!! Thank you for what you have done and what you will continue to do for our school.
Persevere… Turn around, look where we started, enjoy the view (for a moment), then grab those boot straps and get back to work. Enjoy the climb, the view will be magnificent when you’re there. What a challenge!
I never learned who wrote the note, but I’ve kept it close to me. The message was clear. Thank you for what you’ve done, but you have more to do.
Later, we were successful in passing a couple bond issues. We upgraded the building’s infrastructure, added classrooms, a new cafeteria with a performance center, a specialized room for drama, a chemistry lab, business center, technology lab, remodeled the exterior, added parking, and made several other improvements. Each step helped the community members stand a bit taller, and occasionally puff out their chests. Most importantly, we expanded the opportunities for our students.
Over the years I enjoyed my successes much more than my failures. Winning is just more fun. It’s important to note that learning from our failures makes each of our successes just a bit sweeter.
Today’s schools are dealing with an issue more challenging than I ever faced. We had plans for pandemics when I was leading Britton, but nothing as intrusive as today’s virus ever developed. Students are learning remotely, wearing masks in class, social distancing, playing games in gyms and stadiums with deliberately limited attendance, and moving forward despite the challenge. Most parents are supportive of the local issues, but distractors remain. They believe they know a better way. Some have packed their children off to different schools seeking what they believe to be greener pastures. While the issues have changed, today’s challenges can be overwhelming for even the best of us.
The toughest lesson I had to learn was simply this. When all around you seems too much to handle, you can’t take it personally.
