What Are We Doing to Ourselves?

I have spent a lot of time lately asking myself a simple question: Why would anyone want to serve?

An upcoming Board of Education election has brought with it accusations, rumors and statements presented as fact that simply are not true. Although my seat is not on the ballot, those attacks have extended beyond the candidates. Other board members, our superintendent and even our families have been pulled into it.

I understand criticism comes with public service. If you vote to spend taxpayer money, hire a superintendent, build a facility or make decisions affecting thousands of children and employees, people have every right to question you.

But questioning decisions and attacking people are two different things.

What sometimes gets forgotten is that the people serving in these positions are human beings. We have spouses, children, grandchildren and parents who read what is written on social media. They hear the rumors. They see people they love accused of things they know aren't true.

That takes a toll.

There also seems to be a misconception that serving on the Board of Education is somehow financially rewarding.

It isn't.

A Clay County Board of Education member receives $150 gross for attending a meeting. That isn't $150 an hour. It is $150 for the meeting, before taxes.

Nobody should seek this position for the money, because there isn't much money to seek.

You accept the phone calls. You answer questions. You listen to complaints. You attend meetings and school functions. You study issues involving millions of dollars. You make decisions that can affect employees, families and children for years.

And then you go home and hope you made the right decision.

I didn't choose to serve because of $150.

I serve because I believe Clay County's children deserve good schools. I want our teachers and employees to be paid as well as we can possibly afford. I want better facilities. I want our students to have opportunities comparable to children anywhere else in Kentucky.

Those are the things our board and superintendent spend our time discussing.

Are we perfect? Absolutely not.

Have we made decisions everyone agrees with? Of course not.

That is government. That is public service. And disagreement is healthy when it is based on facts.

What troubles me is when disagreement becomes personal destruction and rumors become accepted as truth simply because someone repeated them enough times on Facebook.

At some point, we should ask ourselves what that does to our community.

If every person willing to serve knows that doing so means their character, family and motives will constantly be attacked, eventually good people will decide it simply isn't worth it.

Then where will we be?

An election will come and go. Somebody will win, and somebody will lose.

When it's over, however, the children will still be here.

They should be the reason we're doing any of this.