One-sided input on charter school

The Post and Courier's lead editorial of May 27 urged the Charleston County School District to house the proposed Charleston Charter School for Math and Science on the former Rivers Middle School campus, and did so under the headline: 'Encourage community input by advancing charter school.'

The writer noted the significant and diverse attendance at a recent public forum held by the school district at Burke High School to discuss the issue and noted that the proposal with the most support was for exclusive placement of the charter school on the former Rivers Middle School campus.

I attended the meeting and since have spoken with attendees who don't support the proposal and who left the meeting feeling it was geared to achieve the outcome noted above.

Based upon those conversations, I urge the school district to carefully consider its options and gain more objective and balanced input before reaching a final decision. I agree that community input is crucial and would make some strong suggestions to the school district in seeking community input.

The first suggestion is to be clear in intent. The publicity leading up to the public forum indicated that it would be a time for community input but made no mention of the process or that there would be any kind of vote on any proposed options.

Had that critical information been shared, it's very likely that many more citizens would have attended to express their opinions by voting. What happened instead was the equivalent of holding a mayoral candidates' forum and then informing those in attendance that the next mayor would be elected by a vote at the end of the forum.

The second suggestion is that preparatory information be shared in an even-handed and public manner. The five options presented were not widely publicized prior to the forum. I noted when listening to the group reports, however, that those who support using the Rivers campus for the charter school seemed to express the same pros and cons on the proposed choices in each of their groups. Since four of those choices were only presented on the night of the forum, it made me wonder if the Charter School's supporters were privy to information that was not made available to all interested parties.

The third suggestion is to see that facilitators in future discussion groups are familiar with the full scope of the issue. Some of the facilitators were not, which led to needless and time consuming debates on 'side issues' rather than on the merits of each proposed option. The goal of facilitation, in fact, seemed to be not to prompt earnest dialogue, but to reach a speedy end without having to face pointed questions.

The afore stated concerns and eventually predictable outcome made many of those who attended the forum feel that it was an exercise in futility. Many whom I spoke to felt that our mayor and other political and business leaders, who wrote letters endorsing the charter school placement on the Rivers campus, simply made up their minds to make that happen and that the forum was crafted only to provide some shred of justification.

In that light, the promises regarding the well-being of Burke High School sadly seemed like the kind of window dressing that's usually presented before questionable decisions are made to tamp down dissent.

As a Charleston resident of eight years standing, I won't at all be surprised to see the proposed Charleston Charter School for Math and Science placed in the former Rivers Middle School building. I've learned that when the powers that be here set the table, they usually get their way. I still hope, however, that the school district will hold another forum with clearly stated intent, proper sharing of information and well prepared facilitators.

One supporter of the charter school's placement on the Rivers campus frankly stated that her concern was a matter of trust in the school district. I share her concern, but from a slightly different angle. For those without influence and privilege in our community, trust is a rare commodity because of past decisions that only benefit certain segments of our community. When we get beyond that sad trend and make decisions for the good of the entire community and do so with clear intentions, then 'community input' will be a valuable tool for progress and not simply a cursory, one-sided affair.

The Rev. Joseph A. Darby is senior pastor of Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church.