Tuesday's big local news wasn't so much about what was said in the budget workshop between the Hamilton County Commission and Hamilton County Board of Education; it was actually about what wasn't said.
What wasn't said was "tax increase." Or "commitment."
In late April, our school board passed a $372.8 million general purpose budget for the coming school year, along with a request for an additional $24 million to spend on a list of prioritized needs. Now, that request sits squarely in the hands of Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, who in presenting the schools' proposal to county commissioners at Tuesday's workshop, was coy about how to fund those prioritized needs, i.e., a tax increase.
Coy might be good on a date. Coy might be good at the poker table. But coy is not leadership when 40 percent of our third graders cannot read on grade level and our new manufacturers say they have 15,000 jobs they can't fill with local people because our high school graduates aren't jobs-ready.
In short, coy is not leadership.
What Coppinger did say, however, was somewhat telling. We'll paraphrase:
* The commission will tell you the most important thing we do is public education, and we want to give more but we have constraints.
* The community perception about our county school system is negative. People have said for at least a decade that they don't want to spend more money on schools: They don't trust the district.
* There is a perception that there is a lot waste within the school system, but it's not reality.
Between the lines, Coppinger seemed to be using what we'll call back-door leadership. After all, we all know we live in a county where the mention of a tax increase turns spines to jelly.
One might argue that Coppinger's approach was a form of suggestion leadership, but whether that will prove effective in helping shape a conversation at the commission and community level that leads us to improved schools remains to be seen.
Coppinger also accurately and bluntly said: "People (he means us, the taxpayers) have to be willing to want to invest in education in this county."
Whether we become willing may well depend on whether Coppinger and our other local leaders are willing to stand tall while assuring us that not only does our county need this, but they - our leaders - personally will accept responsibility to ensure that we can trust them and the school district.
They must be willing to do their part. And we must be willing to understand that the important question is not whether we should reward a school district that has failed us, but whether (and when) we will reward Hamilton County's 44,000 children with better schools.
Mayor and commissioners: If you want to change the perception of our schools, stand tall and say you will lead the way.