Everyone has the right of free speech

I found it odd at the special board meeting last week that members of the group that came to oppose Superintendent Rose Search were apologizing for the comments of supporters at the Feb. 23 regular meeting.

No apology was necessary for either group. Considering how this story was developing, though supposedly secret, folks had reason to be upset or simply want to know what was going.

What happened at the last two board meetings was America at its best. It is how we often end controversies. And there may be more to come.

Until recently, there were only rumors whirling. Community members wanted to know if they were true, and they wanted a chance to, perhaps, sway the board.

We all have a right to express our views. It's not often we do, and when we do, we become emotional, flustered, red-faced, tongue-tied, shaky, and sometimes we blurt out something we'd rather take back. That's how it went on the 23rd.

The crowd last Thursday was smaller than the crowd of the 23rd. That didn't make them any quieter, less emotional or less tongue-tied than the group of the 23rd.

The central issue - which some will deny - is a conflict between the teacher's union and district leadership. That's not new. It happens in every school district.

By nature, there is an adversarial relationship between the teaching staff and the administration. It's the same as between reporters and editors, store managers and clerks and CEOs and assembly line workers.

The guy at the bottom of the pecking order is always smarter than the guy at the top. Just ask him.

The board, which selects the superintendent, is supposed to back that individual, just as the superintendent is supposed to carry out the board's wishes. That does not mean teachers can't speak their minds and that board members can't hear them out.

But still, by nature, the relationship between the board and the teachers is adversarial. It's the board's job to hold the line fiscally and educationally while it's the union's job to stretch that line further and further.

Sometimes things get a little confused, partly because of the secrecy laws governing personnel matters, and a community has a moment like this.

You won't be divided forever, and the division won't likely break up friendships. After every city or school upheaval I witnessed, from Wapato to Sunnyside, everything went back to normal. The same people drank tea together.

One thing to keep in mind, whether for or against Search, is that the hiring and firing of a superintendent is the board's job and the board's job alone. You can speak to board members on the phone or at meetings or snipe at them behind their backs, but it's still their job.

If the board lets Search go, you can be sure the reasoning will be well thought out and that they'll use sound reasoning to find a replacement. And if they don't let Search go, that too will be based on sound reasoning.

As for citizen input, more power to all who have participated. Our system of government was set up so that we can argue - maybe yell a little - and still be friends.