I wanted to document a neat experience I had this past week. There is a bitter divorce going on between the Canyons School District and the Jordan School District. Last Sunday, the Superintendent (a friend of mine in the neighborhood), was on the KSL news explaining the Canyons point of view about a bill that was being presented during the current legistlative session. This bill would require our district to give the Jordan District millions of dollars each year because they are experiencing a huge budget deficit. Well, I decided to give him a call and ask what I could do to get parents to help "Kill the Bill". He informed me on the issue and asked me to get the word out and to e-mail legistlators on the Education Committee and attend a hearing scheduled later in the week. I really felt energized and excited to help out.
The day before the hearing I was asked to give a brief statement during the public comment portion of the hearing. I have honestly never been more nervous in my life than I was that evening. I had envisioned myself sitting as if I were Timothy Guethner, or Hank Poulsen in the "hot seat" pleading my case as to why we could not allow this bill to pass. I didn't sleep much the night before and was filled with anxiety the entire next day. My good friend Dina and I headed up to the Capitol ready to fight! I was somewhat relaxed throughout the hearing, until they decreased the amount of time for public comment to 1 min. My heart was pounding in my chest as I stood in line waiting for my turn,rereading my statement over and over making sure I made points that had not been made yet as well as keeping them to a strict 1 min. There was a lady who was timing and at the end of your min literally yelled "TIME". It was finally my turn and I sat at the podium, pronounced my name, and quickly got my points across. What a relief...my 1 minute of fame was finally over!! I thought to myself, all of that worrying and anxiety over that. These legistlators probably weren't even listening! Oh well, after they took the vote, the bill was killed 11-3. The people of the Canyons District were succesfully that evening. It was a great experience to be apart of the process and it taught me a valuable lesson, "we the people" can have a powerful voice.
I am not sure the best way to solve our state or even countries educational shortfalls, but I truly felt that this was the wrong bill with the wrong language to begin doing it. I want each child to have a fair opportunity at gaining a good education, but we have our own fiscal challenges on the east side of the valley just like every other community does! My friend put it perfectly, "we aren't the federal government handing out stimulus checks!"
The next day, I was contacted by a legistlators assistant asking if I would be willing to be a precinct chair for her candidate. I am still working out the details of my exact duties. (hopefully not too time consuming) I seem to get myself into things that seem to be small, but in reality are more of a time committment than I had imagined!! Needless to say, I am excited to be involved in the political process of voting our legistlators into office. I guess you could say it is a hobby, having passion about political matters, especially the ones I know I can truly make a difference by being involved!!
