9
gathering and sharing. Having a unified front on
difficult issues can have a real impact when it comes
to discussing issues with legislators. If we cannot
reach a consensus on tough issues, how can we
expect to persuade legislators to support our
position?
Politics and specific issues aside, one of the
mutual benefits of holding a regular legislative
roundtable is to put a face with a name. That helps
make the working relationship more personal and
even allowed me to establish communications with
legislators outside of my own legislative district.
The end result is developing a working
relationship whereby a legislator might reach out to
you to solicit your thoughts on public education policy
or on potential legislation. That equals more impact
on the legislative process for school superintendents.
That makes it worth the effort.
(Continued from page 8)
Outreach
I had an interesting (at least for me) conversation with State Sen. John Sullivan
recently. My takeaway was this: Legislators are people, too. That may not be a
revelation, but today’s political rhetoric can make you wonder whether the human factor
is disappearing into a blogosphere that seems to thrive on personal attacks and
anonymous responses.
The topic of our conversation was legislative roundtables. On the accompanying
page you will find a column written by Virginia Superintendent Brent O’Daniell about
the highly successful annual roundtable hosted by the IASA Two Rivers Region. During
the past several years, that roundtable has achieved almost perfect attendance by both
legislators and superintendents. Retired Mendon Superintendent Diane Robertson and
Pikeland Superintendent Paula Hawley are credited with facilitating past roundtables
and helping to set a productive tone.
I wanted to find out from a legislator’s perspective what makes the roundtables work. Sullivan, who
actually attends three education roundtables a year in his Senate district, said that the Two Rivers formula for
getting a legislator’s attendance – and, more importantly, their attention – works. And it is pretty simple.
“They do their homework ahead of time, the meetings are concise and not rambling, and we get a chance
to hear specifics about how our legislative actions are impacting school districts and the problems they are
having in areas like transportation and curriculum,” said Sullivan, a Democrat from Rushville, who also serves
as the Majority Leader in the Senate. Clearly, the efficient use of time can be as important to legislators as it is
to school superintendents.
The best communication goes two ways, and Sullivan said while he learns something new from every
roundtable he attends, he hopes school leaders also “get a sense of reality about what we as legislators are
up against” in trying to make decisions regarding policies and budgets.
Obviously, tangible things like preparation and having a focused agenda are important. But it was an
intangible item that really caught my attention as Sullivan was discussing why he religiously attends the
education roundtables. In a word: Respect.
“We have had some very frank discussions, but they have been held in an environment of understanding
on both sides,” Sullivan said. “We all have challenges and we all have parameters that we have to work
within. I appreciate the way the school superintendents have just laid out the facts.”
Sullivan also destroyed one stereotype by making it clear that even as a politician he’s no fan of hot air.
“We all are passionate about our jobs and we should be. But when there’s just a lot of rhetoric and hot air
and people are lobbing bombs at each other, nothing really gets accomplished,” he said. “We are all
professionals.”
And, of course, we are all people.
Michael
Chamness, IASA
Director of
Communications
Simple secret for communicating
with legislators: They are people, too
