EXPLORING “All Sides”

Anderson was appointed to the School Board on Jan. 31 to occupy Phil Reitinger’s vacated seat for the remainder of the calendar year. Anderson plans on running for reelection in the next election cycle.

The newest School Board member has used his data expertise to work with budget on the school board, while also pushing himself to embrace gray areas that expand past “the numbers” and noted that “numbers don’t necessarily tell the whole story.”

For example, as the School Board contemplates whether to implement later start times for the Secondary Campus, Anderson must consider data on sleep in adolescents while also prioritizing possible impacts specific to FCC.

“[Even] if a particular set of data says about X, it’s also about how that change affects how people structure their daily lives.”

So while decisions, such as start times, seem straightforward at a first glance, most issues are multifaceted and impact the communities in various ways. Comparably, when the recycling can buckled against the wind the day I spoke with Anderson, another customer may have walked past the can, or, if the winds had been stronger, the can could have flown across the lot before the School Board member could pick it up. Further, Anderson has discovered through his role as both a federal and local public servant that not all citizens will agree with his actions.

To accommodate for differing beliefs, Anderson seeks to communicate with the community members to fully explain why decisions are made, and explain gray areas in policies to expand beyond the basic “yes” or “no” answer often relayed to FCC. Not only would this increase community engagement, but according to Anderson, it would bring more ideas and perspectives to produce more collaborative outcomes.

“Talking to people who disagree with you could be much more fruitful in understanding the entire issue, because they might be noticing something that I’m not.”

As our conversation on that windy day came to a close, the recycling can a few feet from us stood proudly, not constrained by one meaning, but as a symbol of how complex the world may be, even when there may only be clear cut choices. So I quickly refocused back to our ample conversation, and Anderson once again re-emphasized his goal. To not only maintain “utmost respect for both sides” — but for “all sides.”