School board blogger spurs heated debate

By Mary Carey
Staff Writer

Published on January 30, 2009

An emotionally charged discussion of whether to close Mark's Meadow Elementary School has moved to a School Committee member's blog - and blossomed into an animated debate about public officials blogging.

With a chairwoman of the Select Board a blogger, a Police Department with a blog and a town manager who is a fledging blogger himself, Amherst is ripe for the discussion.

<h4>At issue: ‘My School Committee Blog'</h4>

At "My School Committee Blog" and elsewhere, School Committee member Catherine Sanderson has repeatedly said that closing Mark's Meadow would save the most by far of several elementary school reconfiguration plans discussed as possible cost-saving measures. This is based on the School Committee's preliminary calculations. School officials have projected a budget shortfall in the $1 million range.

Some who have posted to her blog thank Sanderson, who has been answering all the questions they raise, for the information she is providing and for being open and honest about her own decision-making process.

Other people object to the forum.

"May I express how out-of-line I believe the ‘My School Committee Blog,' written by Catherine A. Sanderson is, in its effort to push the agenda of closing Mark's Meadow School?" John Keins, a Mark's Meadow teacher, asked in a letter to the Bulletin, last week.

Keins says he finds some of Sanderson's assertions on the blog to be "erroneous conjecturing." Other posters say Sanderson, as a member of the School Committee, might unduly sway readers who are not otherwise following the school-closing issue closely and that she shouldn't rush to judgment.

Still other posters to "My School Committee" consider the merits of the forum in the comment section.

<h4>The place for debate</h4>

"This blog is ... the place in Amherst to have an informed debate about education," writes Joel Wolfe, a University of Massachusetts professor of history. "The SC meetings are largely a farce and the public is treated shamefully."

"I don't see a downside," said Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie O'Keeffe.

"I would rather know what an elected official thinks than not know it, and I think everyone benefits when views are shared, challenged and defended," O'Keeffe said. "Vigorous discussions on my Web site have helped me clarify my own thoughts, and helped me to better understand opposing views and concerns."

Lt. Jennifer Gundersen, who oversees the Amherst Police Department's blog, thinks that "public employees absolutely should blog."

"We should make every effort that we can to find ways we can facilitate conversation with our community, the people that pay us, the people that support us and who really want to know what we're doing," Gundersen said. "We want them to see our progress, what we're doing and where we're going."

<h4>Parameters for blogging?</h4>

An anonymous poster asks whether there are parameters for officials blogging: "Many towns and cities have very specific guidelines and rules for how public officials and employees can blog because of some of the legal implications," the poster notes.

"In most instances, a disclaimer that the blog is the personal opinion of the blogger is not usually enough. Does the town of Amherst have a ‘blogging policy?'"

O'Keeffe said that checks-and-balances already in place should be sufficient.

"We are all responsible for our words and actions, and we have to be willing to stand behind them. Everything we say and do either helps or hurts our re-election potential and our ability to work with our colleagues. What kind of ‘rules for blogging' could be more effective than that reality?"

If there's a solution to having too few people wielding influence with their blogs, it's that more people should have blogs, O'Keeffe said. "The more, the merrier. There is so much we can all learn from each other. ... Information needs to flow through as many channels as possible to have the broadest reach, and Web use continues to expand."

Gundersen said police have received invaluable input from residents who have posted comments to their blog. In one case, for instance, a suggestion that the police should pay closer attention to high school students who drive led to the police working directly with students on traffic enforcement.

The police also read other people's blogs to see what residents' concerns are, Gundersen said. "Comments on blogs I do think help guide what our priorities are."

<h4>Cease and desist</h4>

Meanwhile, a group of parents has written a letter to the Bulletin prompted by Sanderson's blog to "implore the committee to withhold judgment and cease publicizing unconfirmed information." The decision to close Mark's Meadow, the writers say, should be made only under "careful professional review, hard numbers and community input."

Mark's Meadow parent Tracy Hightower, one of the letter writers, said she isn't opposed to Sanderson answering questions on the blog, but fears Sanderson's tone of certainty may sway some people who are not following the discussion closely.

"I think the sentiment is that since the School Committee is an elected board they shouldn't be advocating so much for a certain procedure until they have the information."

Hightower thinks "it's almost an ethical issue for an elected official to be so opinionated in one direction or another before all the information is clearly provided. Catherine is really committed to doing the right thing," Hightower said. "I'm just concerned about how vocal she's been for this one particular plan."

Sanderson said there is nothing hidden or half-baked about her calculations. The way the elementary school population is divided now there are vast inequities, she said, and taxpayers are paying more per child to be educated at Mark's Meadow where class sizes are smaller than at the other schools.

Among the disparities often cited are that some 60 percent of students at Crocker Farm qualify for free or reduced lunch compared to 22 percent at Wildwood.

Unless substantial cost savings can be found, it is likely that music and art programs would be cut and some children charged for riding the bus, Sanderson said, changes that would hurt students from lower-income families most. Said Sanderson, "As an elected official, I 100 percent think I have a responsibility to every school child in Amherst."

To those who object to her sharing her opinions on her blog she said, "It's called ‘My School Committee Blog.'" The emphasis is on the "My," she said. "Anybody else who wants to have their own School Committee blog can set that up and have their opinions on it."

Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.