Left In Lowell

On her blog, Jackie answered the Warren Shaw-authored op-ed piece in Saturday’s Sun, “Does the school board model need an overhaul?”

Shaw , the long-time WCAP radio host, political commentator and former Dracut town official has been advocating for a while that the current election system and authority structure of school committees are ineffective at best and obstructionist at worse.

He wrote: “If you’re happy with the continuing battles over funding that take place in nearly every city and town in the commonwealth, don’t bother thinking about it. If it pleases you that in the same municipality, school-side employees get raises and municipal employees from firefighters to library staff go without, keep what you have. If you think that school board subcommittees should take unilateral actions that so infuriate their colleagues that they find it necessary to defend their rights by having a verbal exchange with the superintendent that transforms into a legal battle, maintain the status quo.

The recent allegation against a Lowell School Committee person was not the catalyst for this viewpoint; he has been talking about this for a while now. In this campaign, Shaw joins Kendall who floats the idea at least once or twice a year.

But Jackie reminds everyone that “cutting voters out of the process is wrongheaded and goes against the democratic foundation on which this nation was built. The remedy for good governance is what it has always been: informed, attentive and active citizenry who hold their elected leaders accountable.”

I agree with Jackie. The problem is not the structure. The problem is a disinterested and uninformed electorate. If we could only find a way to motivate, inspire and mobilize residents to vote during municipal elections. Look at the horribly, low turnout that our neighboring towns experienced during their recent elections. Lowell will not do any better this fall. As long as people feel disenfranchised, they will not come out to vote. And who benefits by general apathy this? Those already in power!