What’s with pols who don’t want to talk? We have questions about FW schools and more | Opinion

If someone came to your job, stood in front of everyone and called out your performance, you’d probably be eager to respond. If the news media were there, you might knock people over to get before the cameras and tell reporters your side of things.

And if that’s your reaction, apparently you wouldn’t fit in on the Fort Worth ISD board of trustees.

After Mayor Mattie Parker stood before the board on Aug. 27 and called out the district’s miserable performance in basic student achievement, the Star-Telegram newsroom sought comment from all of the trustees. It’s a potential watershed moment, with dozens of civic and business leaders signing onto Parker’s letter outlining the district’s failures and demanding change.

Eight of the nine trustees had nothing to say to their constituents. New board President Roxanne Martinez issued a written statement pledging that the board would cooperate with city leaders to “rise to the challenges before us and strengthen our public education system for the betterment of our students, families, and community.”

Her colleagues shared no ideas for improvement. None would talk about whether Superintendent Angélica Ramsey is the right leader going forward. None even tried to muster a defense of FWISD. They said nothing. And it wasn’t just us — the Fort Worth Report, a digital news site, reported the same lack of responses.

It’s part of a frustrating trend journalists around the nation have noted. Elected officials increasingly refuse to answer (and sometimes even acknowledge) questions about their governments. Locally, we see the effect when journalists — and thus citizens — can’t get simple answers from Tarrant County leaders on juvenile justice issues, the Tarrant Appraisal District and, yes, the school board.

Some elected officials do better. Fort Worth City Council members are generally responsive and accessible to their constituents.

This is not about “the media.” We know trust in journalists is low, and some people think it’s fine, even commendable, when elected officials they support don’t even acknowledge reporters’ questions.

But what we’re doing is not for ourselves. We’re looking into issues and problems that the average citizen doesn’t have the time or inclination to hunt down and asking questions on their behalf. We’re trying to shed light on mistakes or misplaced priorities so that voters have the information they need to hold leaders accountable.

When the Star-Telegram recently reported on school districts’ concerns about how changes to the property-appraisal process would affect their revenue, none of the three recently elected board members commented on the issue. The entire point of adding elected positions to appraisal districts’ governing bodies was to address concerns that the public did not have representation and give voters a modicum of input on appraisal issues. That’s pretty hard to do if the elected members won’t talk.

Our public officials need to take more questions from the public as well. Too many make too few appearances, or they limit themselves to friendly audiences, especially if they occupy a partisan elected office. But part of the job is listening to constituents whether they voted for you or not and engaging with those who disagree.

The school board’s response to direct criticism was the most troubling. It’s time for robust debate on what it will take to improve instruction in basic skills. Tens of thousands of kids are being left behind, or at least face monumental challenges that a better education would mitigate.

It’s a clear danger to our city’s future, too. Without a properly educated workforce, business expansion and growth take a hit. And it’s that kind of sustained prosperity that makes progress for all possible.

We want answers to questions so that we can better serve you. But ultimately, it’s not about us.

If you aren’t getting the information you need, it’s impossible for you to determine whether your representatives are doing their jobs. And maybe that’s the point.

If public officials don’t want to talk to reporters, fine. But voters should insist that they talk to someone.