Gratitude Practice 2023 Nov 20: Public Servants and the BIG GULPs of Community Service
Tonight, our school district held a meeting and shared their plan to close four elementary schools. In addition, the proposal includes drawing new boundaries for a total of fourteen schools in our district. Magnet and special programs will move locations and new programs will be created. These are not small decisions and tonight's presentation has been years in the making. Nothing easy or simple or lighthearted about this process. Like many, I've watched this complicated workflow morph over the last few months and YIKES! So many meetings. So much speculation. So many factors. So many “what if’s” and just as many “however’s.” So many things to consider and just so many big decisions to be made. Tonight, the formal plan was presented and now the community and the board will rumble through both a formal and informal processes. A final decision will be made in a few weeks and all changes go into effect next fall. These proposed changes will affect my little family as it will affect many families in our community. If approved, in any form, these decisions will have rippling effects for all of the programs I oversee at work. I believe this is officially…A BIG GULP situation!
AND...Tomorrow is election day in Utah and our capital city will have a new mayor and coincidentally
new leadership. Many of my fellow city employees consider tomorrow (which happens every four years) “New Boss Day”and tomorrow will be the fifth mayoral election I've experienced while working for Salt Lake City. Inset large blinking eyes here.
After tomorrow, our county will swap out a few new council members. A handful of state legislators will high five their new replacements as some terms begin and others end once all of the votes are counted. Bonds and initiatives will be decided upon or ignored and thus the shuffling of the people and the policies will begin anew. This is what is called a DOUBLE BIG GULP experience!
What a terrific and terrifying adventure! While never frustration-free, I am grateful for these people and for this process. Anyone who willfully seeks out or agrees to accept an elected or appointed position has my utmost gratitude and respect. Tonight, even as I don't always or fully agree, I am incredibly grateful for the courage of those who step up to lead. Grateful for their time and the energy it requires to serve the public. Hours of long and mind numbing meetings where you are asked to explain or interrupt complicated or conflicting ideas to often hostile or uninterested crowds all the while remaining pleasant, professional and poised…this is no small thing. Grateful for their collective willingness to listen, process feedback, hold the line, find what is agreeable and respectfully communicatie during moments of hot tempers and big tension…never ever easy. Grateful for those who hold the line, build systems, create safety, and maintain their integrity while under big political pressure. Grateful for those willing to stand up and speak up and for those elected leaders who carefully and wisely choose their words because timing truly is everything. Grateful for those with courage and commitment and creative problem solving but mostly and especially grateful for those whose integrity survives and remains intact throughout the process. Grateful for the school board and the school leadership team as they navigate really complicated shark infested waters. Grateful for the democratic process and for those who risk big for the good of the community…may they be wise, and kind, and true and honest and strong. Grateful to have followed this process long enough to know my place and the pond in which I can successfully swim. Grateful to know enough to root for those who are tasked with communicating the unthinkable even as I may never agree. Grateful for those compassionate and crazy enough to serve communities and for the lasting difference they make.