So, in my first post after my rant against Pennsylvania's new governor, I'm writing a piece about my attendance at three local government meetings. Two and a half weeks ago I went to the Susquehanna Township commissioners' meeting, last week I attended the Susquehanna Township school board meeting, and tonight I participated in the high school's Principals' Advisory Committee.

I've attended the commissioners' meetings off and on for about three years now. I was originally attracted by the ongoing controversy about the piece of land that lies northeast of my neighborhood (which still lies open and spacious, if a bit less green since the developer cut some more trees, a twig by twig dismantling of the landscape which is a hallmark of his operations). Then I became interested in the career of Josh Wilson, the representative of my ward, with whom I've established a friendly personal relationship.

Susquehanna Township is small geographically, shaped something like a Y. Its southern rim hugs the city, and to the north it pushes up into the mountain. To the west it meets the river, and to the east it melts into another suburban township. Although there is plenty of commerce (some people say too much), Susquehanna is essentially a bedroom community, and the houses which contain the bedrooms run the gamut from one quiet but not very attractive trailer park behind an aging strip mall to half million dollar (and up) mansions. I live not far from the base of the mountain in a neighborhood of similar two-story single family structures established in 1976. I seldom think about living anyplace else.

The township is governed by nine commissioners, one from each ward, elected to four-year terms. They meet usually on the second Thursday of the month, in a special room at the administration building. The commissioners sit in a row on a dais behind a wall, a bit like Supreme Court justices. The meeting last week was sparsely attended. There's no big controversy raging right now, and matters were excruciatingly routine. 

My congregation recently bought a doctor's office across the road from the church building to use as office and Sunday School space. The commissioners granted our request to paint a crosswalk on the pavement. They approved some subdivision plans and paid bills. They observed a moment of silence for the student and teacher that the high school lost. They proclaimed commendations for two police officers, one who'd saved a toddler from drowning in his family's sump pump well and another who pushed a stranded motorist out of the way of a careening truck. They discussed the ramifications of an informal agreement to remove snow from the private roads of a townhouse complex and the ongoing problems with our contracted trash removal service. So while nothing happened that affected me directly or that might draw from me a poem or a short story, I nevertheless felt like a Very Good Citizen for having been there.

My attendance at school board meetings is new. I taught for thirty years in one school district and have had a child enrolled in another for more than ten years, but until last month I had never attended a school board meeting. In December I was drawn to a presentation by a group that wants to start a charter school. 

In Pennsylvania, any group can establish a school that they believe serves a population or fills a need that is not being met by the public school where it resides. In the Harrisburg school district there is a charter school dedicated to intensive science education. I'm acquainted with someone involved in trying to  establish a charter school for gifted students in a nearby district, but that charter has been denied (and appealed) several times. Students who attend the charter school bring with them the money their home district would be spending on them. People who are dedicated to public education generally oppose charter schools. I certainly do.

The group petitioning Susquehanna Township wants to establish a school to serve the needs of students with a particular learning style. They made a Power Point presentation explaining their stance and answered questions from the board members. The board members and administrators were gracious and took the matter under advisement, with a decision promised within the time period set by law. 

In addition to the charter school presentation, the board heard a report from its technology director who talked about efforts to curb student cheating from the Internet, and the English as a Second Language expert who reported on ongoing efforts to translate every school district document into all of the first languages currently represented in the student population.

Last week's meeting began with the expected moment of reflection on our recent losses. The board members and the administrators sit at a u-shaped table, and their give and take seems to be friendlier and less formal than that of the commissioners. That perception might be a reflection of the fact that the matters they discuss are more interesting to me because I know more about them. The administrators spend a lot of time announcing student accomplishments, so I hear my daughter's name and those of her friends.

The Principals' Advisory Committee meets four times a year. Tonight was the second meeting of my second year as a member. My first meeting last year took place not longer after September 11, so assessing the ways the school had handled that crisis was the main topic of discussion. And as you might expect, most of the discussion tonight was devoted to assessing the ways the school handled our recent tragedies. I also made a report on research I did into a state law banning student possession and use of cell phones and pagers while they are at school. (I am in favor of rescinding the outright ban the law seems to impose and leaving the matter up to local control.)

During Lynn's school years I've made a habit of conveying to her teachers and administrators my thoughts on various matters that come up. E-mail makes this easy. And I've been careful to balance positive comments against negative ones. Thus I've sent four or five messages about what I see as successes in the music program and the speech program and the science program before lodging my complaints about an ill-conceived social studies project and a band trip.

Even though Lynn has barely a year and a half left as a Susquehanna student, I'm getting more interested rather than less at what goes on there. The loss of Mr. Rosenthal caused me to take a really hard look at the writing instruction and experiences the kids are offered. His effectiveness seems to have masked what I see as some real deficiencies in the overall program. That's not a matter for this body to discuss, however.

January is almost over, and not a minute too soon, if you ask me. Tonight's meeting seems to have offered some "closure" (that much-abused word right of psychobabble) to the sorrows of this month. May our next month be easier.