Editorial: Let's Keep it Civil

RFH 2010, Featured Articles

Sun, Feb 07, 2010

Discussions about the 2010/2011 HCS budget have already started, both formally and informally. Many more conversations are to come.

But, already, there are plenty of comments flying about like rabid bats. Some are inaccurate, others are outright lies. Some are ill-cosidered but many are meant to be hurtful and add nothing to the conversation. And, many are simply uttered without having the benefit of the facts.

Because of that -- and because the well-being of children is at stake -- we hope that people will seriously consider being as thoughtful as possible when they join the discussion. In fact, HCS itself offers a good outlook in its Civility Policy. It says:

We believe that effective dialogue can occur only in an atmosphere of mutual respect; therefore,

It is the policy of the Hamilton Central School Board of Education to conduct its business at meetings and in all communications, written and oral, in a manner that models respect and civility.

We invite and expect members of the public to share this commitment with us.

Further, we expect that the district's students, faculty and staff members, parent and student organizations, committees and members of the community will, in their written communications and while participating in meetings, school activities and other school related interactions, be guided by this policy, and will conduct themselves with civility and respect.

Truly, that is not too much to ask. This is behavior that responsible parents expect of their children, so ought to model it themselves.

This year has a potential for being a contentious one for deciding how HCS will raise and spend its money. Superintendent Dr. Diana Bowers and the Board of Education has asked repeatedly for the thoughts, opinions, suggestions and HELP of the community in creating what, because of state funding cuts, will be a difficult fiscal plan.

If you do decide to be part of the solution, keep the HCS Civility Policy in mind.

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