I once adhered to an unwritten but observed internal rule not to publish editorial commentary about issues that did not appear in articles printed on the front page or other news sections in the same edition. I seem to be breaking that rule with more regularity in recent years, and I am going to do it again this week because few things aggravate me more about government than when communication’s closet door begins to open for us, only to find elected representatives cowering beneath their bedsheets.
Last month, both Roby and Rotan school districts had nearly identically worded agenda items for trustees to vote on. In a general sense, the discussion was whether to open a public community feedback process to gather input on the potential consolidation, with no decision on consolidation being made at that time.
Rotan voted in favor of hearing from the public on the issue. Roby did not. However, they didn’t vote against it either.
The item was simply “tabled,” which raises the obvious question: why?
The answer could be many things or anything, ranging from fear to weakness to logic or combinations of other feelings and emotions. Personally, I would like to believe the reason Roby trustees were reluctant to take a vote was because there were two members absent, one of them being the board president.
Given the nature of the discussion, I know I would want to hear from all my fellow representatives before moving forward, especially if the application of a little patience and an additional meeting was all that was required. Therefore, I can’t say it was wrong to delay the vote.
However… At the risk of complicating the issue, I feel there are some housekeeping matters to address here.
After the agenda item’s discussion during Roby’s June 8 meeting — which included members of the public and a number of trustees — the presiding officer called for a motion, which occurred at the 50:25 timestamp on the DMC’s YouTube video of the event. The result of that call was met with silence from the board.
According to Robert’s Rules of Order, when this happens, the item dies due to lack of a motion. However, the presiding officer said the item was “tabled,” which was likely reported as such in the official minutes.
A frequent mislabeling takes place in government — especially at local levels — when officials say “tabled,” what they actually mean is “postponed.”
When a vote is postponed, the date and time of that future vote should be defined. An item that is tabled must be taken up again no later than by the end of the next meeting. If it isn’t, then the item also dies and must be reintroduced on a future agenda in order to be discussed and voted upon.
Properly defining “postponed” versus “tabled” and parliamentary procedures aside — the issue for me isn’t these — my concern rests on the agenda item itself and the Roby trustees’ reaction to it.
The issue to be voted upon was not whether the schools should consolidate. The topic was whether the board should open a forum for community feedback and input regarding consolidation.
If you are a resident of the Roby CISD school district, the board’s silence is screaming at you, and what it shouts is “We don’t want your input.”
To a degree, this is understandable, as this is not the first time in recent years that consolidation was up for discussion.
In 2018, Roby trustees moved their monthly meeting into the school auditorium to accommodate the audience. At the time, the idea of consolidating was received about as well in Roby as flatulence during a Sunday sermon.
However, controversy — like gassy parishioners — is initially met with scowls, negative vocal judgments, finger-pointing, and fist-waving. The opponents of any disputed issue are often going to be the first ones to the mic, and for a time, likely the loudest.
In my experience, controversy is more like the gas than the parishioner, and if you let it settle, you’ll find there are words that can be spoken other than “no.” And it is this reluctance to remain at the table when controversy sits down that has always frustrated me with Roby CISD’s governance.
Let me be clear that I am neither a supporter nor an opponent of Roby and Rotan school consolidation. I know that 21 years ago, Kmart merged with Sears. Look how that turned out. However, I also know that 250 years ago, 13 states consolidated into a single union, and that proved to be a pretty good decision.
At this stage, I simply do not have enough information to gauge whether school consolidation is the right course of action or not… and neither do any of you. What you have is a handful of data points and a bucket full of emotion.
The truth is that more facts need to be shared before anyone can claim any action is the wisest choice. We should, as often as possible, allow wisdom to be the driver of action, as I also recall reading somewhere that: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
What I do feel confident in advocating for today is conversation, and I am strongly opposed to those who would act to prevent it. All I can hope for is that wisdom prevails in Roby and that elected representatives see there is no monster in the closet, allow the controversial gases to subside, and allow themselves to publicly hear the voices of voters who put them in office to listen.