Take their word for it?

I was more than a little shocked Monday night when I went to the Manchester Community School Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. for its annual budget hearing and found I was the only person in attendance besides the director of transportation, Jeff Knasiak. What was even more surprising was when Finance Director Elizabeth Wingfield told me she hadn't had to publicly present the budget in the past, because no one usually showed up to the hearing. Wingfield did a wonderful job answering all my questions about the budget. It's too bad no one else was there to gain from her knowledge.

Granted, Wingfield went over the budget again during the regular meeting, but even then, no audience members asked any questions regarding the funds. I'm not sure if the taxpayers are extremely trusting of their school board's decisions or simply don't care.

I was further surprised Tuesday night when I attended Cherie Vannatter's interview for MCS superintendent. The district held various meet and greet opportunities with Vannatter during the day, prior to the interview. I'm not sure exactly how many community members took advantage of the opportunity, but at the interview it didn't seem too promising. I spotted maybe a handful of faces that normally don't attend board meetings. The rest were the usual staff members who diligently show up each month.

After Vannatter interviewed, the audience had the opportunity to submit questions for her to answer. Not a single question was asked. After Vannatter left, the board asked for feedback from several audience members who spoke with Vannatter during the day. They gave great input, but where was the rest of the community?

Why wasn't anyone there to ask Vannatter tough questions? It would seem especially important when this interview process is extremely out of the ordinary, with board members approaching Vannatter about the position and forgoing a traditional search method. Without a traditional search firm to assist, public input would seem even more important.