In our republic, we get the government we deserve. On the local
level that means keeping a careful eye on our institutions, and
toward that end we’d offer these New Year’s resolutions for local
agencies.
In our republic, we get the government we deserve. On the local level that means keeping a careful eye on our institutions, and toward that end we’d offer these New Year’s resolutions for local agencies.
To begin we offer two suggestions for the Gilroy Unified School District in 2003:
• Keeping in line with its commitment to better communicate, it should be regular policy of GUSD officials to stop using acronyms when speaking to the public. Their usage may shorten sentences, but also plants an unnecessary barrier between district discussion and public understanding.
District officials have a bad habit of saying, for instance, “COLA” when referring to Cost Of Living Allowance – the amount of additional money the district will get due to inflation. Officials also overuse acronyms such as BTSA (a program to help new teachers) and CBEDS (a process for figuring out enrollment numbers and other district demographics). Communicate in plain English, not education jargon and the public will be better served.
• Since 65 percent of public school students in Gilroy are Hispanic, and a significant percentage of them speak Spanish as their first language, the district should actively lobby for more standardized tests to be available in Spanish.
It is, at best, unfair for the state to financially reward schools for improvement in subjects such as math and science, when some schools have inordinate numbers of children who cannot follow test directions in English.
While continuing to work on test score improvement and insisting on English improvement, the district should work to make tests available in Spanish for those who lack the necessary English skills.
We have these words of advice for county and city government leaders:
• In the aftermath of the controversial expansion proposal for San Martin’s South County Airport, Santa Clara County should resolve to offer – without solicitation – more truly meaningful opportunities for genuine public input when laying the groundwork for such important policy decisions in the future. Despite much lip service from county officials about the number of meetings held through the process, San Martin residents had to fight way too hard for seats at the proverbial table during the crucial early stages of the dialogue here (and the news media wasn’t even advised of initial meetings). While the issue is admittedly sensitive and technical, it’s that much more crucial that citizens be party to all information and dialogue from the start in order to truly understand what is at hand – and be able to trust in their government’s motives and decisions.
• Remember downtown. City leaders should resolve to keep an eye out for downtown this year and stay committed to following through with the attention they’ve recently paid it in study sessions. Downtown is a crucial part of the city’s historic heart and soul, and with development due to change so much of the face of the city in coming years, it needs to be protected – and enhanced – more than ever. Despite the RDA vote, Council has taken cautious but encouraging steps forward recently on moves to revitalize the area, and should remain open and creative to finding solutions as the dialogue continues.
Last, we would like to offer one recommendation to Gilroy Police who often escape attention.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate. While many of the department’s community service officers and Neighborhood Resource Unit officers have done a great job of initiating positive dialogue with both the community and the media, the department as a whole needs to be more responsive and accountable to inquiries. Too many times local citizens and media are served at the GPD’s convenience, disabling the crucial dialogue for the public to get information in a timely manner. Mirror the department’s “proactive” policy on crime and use it for communication purposes.
