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from studycircles.org
District studies 'study circles'
July 7, 2003
By Mary Ann Lopez
Herald Staff Writer
Speaking out at a school board meeting can be an intimidating experience. You have three minutes to get your point across, while the board stares back at you. If you talk too long a buzzer goes off. Your three minutes are over.
At the end of your spiel you are told "thank you" and sent on your way, uncertain if your concern will be addressed or discussed.
Durango School District 9-R board members Chris Paulson and Roy Horvath want to offer a new alternative for people to be heard, at least on topics of community interest. Rather than relying on the rigid public comment period that is in place, they want to encourage continuing conversation in a small group setting.
It's called a study circle.
Study circles bring together people of diverse backgrounds for several meetings. Groups of about 10 people talk about an issue, with the help of a facilitator, to reach a resolution.
Horvath and Paulson say they are open-minded about other ways to improve communication among the board, the public and administrators, but they believe study circles could be one of the most effective ways to involve people without the sense of intimidation or fear at a board meeting.
"I think basically the reason we have a board is to provide a means for the public to have their values and input brought into the system," Horvath said. "A study circle is not the only way for it to be done, but it is a mechanism we can explore for the public and community to educate themselves about what is going on in the district."
Mary Barter, 9-R superintendent of schools, has worked with study circles before coming to 9-R. Though a study circle can be effective, it can also be costly and time consuming.
"We are discussing the process without talking about the context," Barter said. "We have the cart before the horse. ... I wouldn't choose the process before I determined if there is a need."
Threaded throughout the district's policies are opportunities for public engagement, Barter said. Whether through school or district accountability committees or parent-teacher organizations, options exist for people to participate.
During the school year, several board meetings are held at schools around the district. The board participates in "linkage" at these meetings. Linkage * when the board links with its constituents * is meant to elicit comment from the public on a specific topic chosen in advance.
Paulson said the board is disappointed with the low number of people who attend the linkage meetings.
"Everybody is interested in coming up with a way for it not to be a gripe session," she said.
But, for a study circle to be effective the topic must be clearly defined and include a wide variety of participants, said Deborah Uroda, 9-R public information director. Uroda is researching options for public engagement.
Finding a group of people to commit requires a lot of time and effort, she said.
"It takes a lot of work to network, making sure to get a broad base of people and bring them to the table," Uroda said. "If it takes that much work we want to be sure there is an issue the public really wants to discuss."
As a board member, Horvath said, it is hard to have good communication with the public in three minutes. And there is the sense that processes at the district are directed and guided by the administration. People want to feel they have more involvement in what happens.
Being labeled as a special-interest advocate or a disgruntled parent concerns people who speak out at board meetings, Paulson said.
"I've been on the board about a year and half and what I hear back from people is that the board, with policy governance, is just a rubber stamp and that input is not valued or followed-up on," Paulson said.
A study circle would provide a less hostile way for people to discuss concerns, while creating solutions, Paulson said.
Bliss Bruen is a Durango resident pursuing her master's degree at the University of Colorado at Denver. She is studying public engagement at the city, county and school board levels. Bruen spoke with Paulson and Horvath about using a study circle approach at the school board.
"I feel that people who have problems find it really difficult to get any recourse," Bruen said. "And I find that those people with great ideas feel that (the board) doesn't know how to deal with them."
Hedi Rudd
Mayor's Office
Study Circles on Race Program Coordinator
210 Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd Room 403
Madison, WI 53703-3346
608-266-4611 Phone
608-267-8671 Fax
"You keep plugging away--that's the way social change
takes place. That's the way every social change in history
has taken place: by a lot of people, who nobody ever heard
of, doing work."
Noam Chomsky
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