(This week’s civic education and engagement column from Danville’s The Republican newspaper.)
I started this weekly column a couple years ago, after serving more than two decades as an elected school board member. One of the first things I came to realize after taking the oath of office was how little I really knew about the workings of schools and the other corners of local government. I understood the basics, but nowhere near the level of detail I’d need.
I’ve long considered myself fairly well-informed about government. My history and civics classes were among my favorites. In college, I learned more about the philosophers whose ideas inspired the American Revolution and Constitution. And I’m proud to say I’d managed to memorize the Schoolhouse Rock cartoons.
Throughout my education, I never – not once – learned anything about the local bodies that maintained the quality of life in the counties and communities I’ve called home. And I’m willing to wager neither did you. I’m not exaggerating when I say I believe the lack of education about local government is one of the greatest failures of our nation’s public education system. We should be focusing more on the local stuff, because it’s far more likely that a student will wind up in one of those roles than win a seat in Congress.
Sure, we learn about the three branches of the federal government. We memorize vocabulary words like “bicameral.” We learn a teeny bit about the key Supreme Court decisions that have shaped the nation as much as anything Congress has managed to accomplish.
What we don’t learn is anything about the role of policy adoption in managing our schools. We don’t talk about how county councils influence our daily lives. Nobody ever explains the concept of zoning and why it’s important to our well-being. We may know the police keep us safe, but we don’t understand the role prosecutors play in what the cops do. (By the way, it’s nothing like “Law & Order.” Not even close.)
It doesn’t mean you’re stupid. Not by a long shot. It just means you probably spent a lot of hours learning things you really didn’t need to know, but almost no time learning about the people and governing bodies that make your daily life possible.
Most people can tell you a lot about the President, Governor, Senators, and other state and federal leaders. But all of those people – combined – have less impact on your daily life and personal well-being than the people in county and community government positions.
Your local officials are the ones who keep your home safe, prepare your children for economic stability and success, protect the investment you’ve made in that home and property, and handle all sorts of difficult challenges like making sure your toilet doesn’t flow the wrong way. You don’t have to worry about a lot of things because those local government people are looking out for you and your family.
Some have the power to make you pay taxes. Others simply carry out tasks the state assigns to them. Some, like school districts, do both. All operate according to the U.S. and Indiana Constitutions and federal and state legal codes. What they do has an impact on your well-being and quality of life every single day. Not afraid to drink your tap water? Comfortable driving across town? Happy your neighbor can’t dig a quarry in his backyard? For all this and more, you can thank your local government.
You owe it to yourself to learn about how local government works. Even better, it’s good to know why it works that way. That’s not so you can impress your neighbors or win trivia night. It’s so you understand what the taxes you pay actually accomplish. It’s so you know where to turn when there’s a problem in your community. Most of all, it’s so you can vote for the best candidates instead of the ones with the most yard signs.