Editorial Our unsolicited PR advice With both the city and school district hiring ‘communication specialists,’ can the public expect more transparency or simply better PR?
T
here are two ways of looking at almost simultaneous decisions by Palo Alto City Manager Jim Keene and school district Superintendent Kevin Skelly to hire senior-level help with communications and public outreach. On the one hand, there is more than ample evidence that both the city and school district are struggling with transparency and with developing effective strategies for engaging the public on controversial issues. Good for them if they are acting with these motivations. On the other hand, delegating “communications� to a staff person can be a futile, unproductive exercise and a waste of money if policymakers aren’t already committed to transparency, honest communications and public outreach. It does the community no good to have a city or school staff person with the job of trying to make sure the public sees only what the public agency wants it to see about its operations. Effective communications professionals view their job as being strong advocates for full disclosure and transparency, not as experts in shaping the message to make their employers look good. The challenge and need could not be better illustrated by events of the last week in the Palo Alto Unified School District, which faced three significant news stories and was not prepared to address any of them, in spite of each being known internally for weeks and intentionally kept from the public. First, there was the filing of a formal claim by the family of a disabled former Terman Middle School special-education student who was bullied and harassed for years and which led to findings by the Office for Civil Rights that the district failed to properly address the problem. The claim was filed with the district on June 21, yet the district made no announcement nor was ready with any comment when asked by the media two weeks later, when the family released the document to the Weekly. Next was the revelation that contrary to all public indications, the school board and its attorneys are discussing in closed sessions how it might challenge the federal government’s legal authority to conduct investigations or impose policies on the district. One such discussion took place on June 11, and the only reason the public is aware of it is that the district inadvertently put “confidential� emails on its website. When asked for comment, instead of explaining to the public why this strategy was under consideration, the reaction was to ask that the emails be destroyed or returned and that they not be read or used. Finally, news surfaced of a sixth civil-rights investigation, this time over how the district has complied with Title IX and its response to alleged peer sexual harassment among Palo Alto High School students relating to rumored off-campus sexual assaults. The notice from the Office for Civil Rights was received by the district on June 6 but was kept under wraps from the public until the federal agency released it to the Weekly in response to a routine request for information. When asked for comment, Superintendent Skelly requested that no story be published in order to protect the privacy of those involved, even though the investigation is a broad inquiry into district compliance, not in response to an individual complaint or case, and no personal information is contained in the notice from the Office for Civil Rights. These examples illustrate why decisions on whether or not to release information proactively are so important. As city Chief Information Officer Claudia Keith and school Communications Coordinator Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley settle into their new positions, we urge them to study the philosophy and practices of the late Bob Beyers, the head of the Stanford University News Service for 29 years until 1990. Beyers set the gold standard for how an institution’s communications officer should operate. His mantra was “Candor pays. Maybe not in the short term, but always in the long term.� When Beyers died in 2002, former Stanford President Richard Lyman said: “Beyers never saw himself as engaged in public relations, always as a journalist. He lived by the highest standards of that profession: unflagging energy, total integrity, insatiable curiosity and unsparing candor.� Perhaps the most useful observation under current circumstances is the approach Beyers took to “bad� news, as related by Spyros Andreopoulos, his long-time friend and colleague, in a tribute published in the Weekly after Beyers’ death (http://tinyurl.com/PAWbyers): “He believed the best way to handle bad news was to tell the truth. Bob was the inventor of the pre-emptive press release. If something bad was going to happen, Bob put out a full news release before the press found out. His theory was that in getting the story out first you defused it, and spared yourself from having to explain later not only what happened but also why it was covered up. Potential scandals that could cling around in the media for weeks or months would go away in a few days.� There are many more challenges than how to handle bad news or news that is destined to result in controversy. But given the many occasions over the last year when following this advice would have helped the school district or the city, it’s not a bad place to start. N
Page 12ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â?ÞÊ£Ó]ÊÓä£ÎÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ“
Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions
Encouraging students Editor, Joy Helsaple’s guest opinion, titled “Terman: A caring place for kids in a complicated world,� was refreshing to read. The author was not only a product of PAUSD, but also a current employee. She pointed out the importance of adults on campus — teachers and staff who recognize almost “invisible� students for few brief moments during the hectic school day. I believe such adults are the unsung heroes who keep the ship afloat in troubled waters. Having taught at Palo Alto High School for 34 years, I’ve witnessed a decrease in student resiliency. We do live in a frantic world, but I feel the school campus can offer a slower pace where the possibility exists for students to work through some of their concerns on an informal basis. Students need to PRACTICE overcoming adversity and adults can help. A teacher’s “hello� or a “follow-up� question can make a student’s day. A staff member just listening contributes to rebuilding student confidence. I applaud teachers and staff who take the time out of their scheduled day to encourage students to “get back up and try again — maybe a hundred times more!� Marilyn Mayo Oxford Avenue, Palo Alto
Palo Alto’s scourge Editor, The scourge of Palo Alto is not the vehicle dwellers at Cubberley. I have lived in Greenmeadow since March 1988. There are usually a few vehicle dwellers there. This does not threaten me. I have spoken with several of them. They spend money at Piazza’s Market and probably other places, too. Some have attended PA schools. They are not criminals, nor is “lewd behavior� confined to them. I raised two daughters in Greenmeadow. Their safety has not been compromised by Cubberley’s vehicle dwellers. To my knowledge, no Cubberley vehicle dweller has been prosecuted or been suspected of any of the dozens of burglaries in Greenmeadow. Nor of the car-jacking(s), muggings or vandalism. Nor, even graffiti. What do the city council and their supporters expect to accomplish by the ban? What problem will such a ban solve? Would Greenmeadow property values have increased more without the dwellers? From whence will the required police resources be re-directed? Where will the dwellers go? They
will be spending their money a long way from here. The scourge of Palo Alto is the incessant drone of hundreds of “leaf� blowers, lawn mowers and trimmers, 24-7. “Leaf� blowers are now operating at Cubberley and/or Piazza’s Market between one and four. They wake me up. They must annoy the vehicle dwellers on whom resources will now be spent evicting from our city; resources that were supposed to be allocated to enforcing the gas-powered leaf blower ordinance of 2005 that is ignored with impunity by the “gardeners� and those who hire them. E Breht Napoli Adobe Place, Palo Alto
Ban on car camping Editor, I’d like to offer my opinion in regards to the potential ban on car camping. I need to ask: “Just where do we (the more fortunate) propose that the campers go? � It’s already illegal to camp on the streets of Palo Alto. There’s little room on private and/or church land now. And any support has
been negligible and uninterested in this societal problem. So keeping in mind that shelter and hygiene are basic human survival rights and not some doled out privileges that seems to be the prevailing philosophy here: Do we let the negativity of a few bad apples color our natural desire to help and promote a philosophy of “NIMBY-ism�? This is our societal problem that won’t go away. Lorin Krogh Encina Avenue, Palo Alto
Floral shop closing Editor, Repeatedly voted “Best Florist in Palo Alto� for several years now, Stanford Floral Design will close at the end of September due to loss of lease. What a pity this high-quality, friendly and community-minded shop with over 19 years of service will be forced to close. The face of Palo Alto is ever-changing — but not always for the best. I, for one, am very sad about this impending change. Caryn Huberman Lincoln Avenue, Palo Alto
WHAT DO YOU THINK? The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.
?
Will the city’s and school district’s new communication specialists bring more transparency?
Submit letters to the editor of up to 250 words to letters@paweekly.com. Submit guest opinions of 1,000 words to editor@paweekly.com. Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted. Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Editorial Assistant Eric Van Susteren at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.