We have four words for the Oxford Board of Education – get your act together.

Honestly, the board looks more like a cheesy soap opera these days than an elected body of community leaders charged with educating students properly and spending tax dollars wisely.

Scratch that, the board looks more like one of those annoying, self-indulgent teen dramas full of angst and over-the-top acting.

We’ve got school board members pointing fingers. We’ve got board members literally crying. We’ve got the perception that some board members are ganging up on others.

We’ve got board members who feel they’re being ignored and nobody understands them. We’ve got board members packing up their toys and going home.

There should be a cheese platter set up at every meeting to complement all the whines. The next thing they’re going to whine about will probably be this editorial.

Everybody on that board is talking, but nobody’s really listening. Everybody’s got something to say, but nobody’s communicating effectively.

It’s basically Facebook minus the computers and the mundane details of people’s tedious lives.

Don’t get us wrong. We think it’s very healthy for there to be dissent on a board. In fact, we encourage it. We don’t like it when every board decision is the result of a unanimous vote because it’s not honest, it’s not genuine, it’s not real.

It’s impossible for five, seven or nine independent-thinking people to sincerely agree on everything all the time.

Constant unanimous votes are the product of boards where members are either bullied, lazy, apathetic, uninformed or cutting deals behind the scenes.

We don’t want the school board to go back to the bad old days when it was simply a collection of bobbleheads who rubber-stamped everything the superintendent wanted. We don’t think the current superintendent, Tim Throne, wants that, either, because he’s not a controlling egomaniac like the previous superintendent.

We want everyone on the school board to be free to speak their minds. We want everyone on the school board to listen to each other and respect each other’s points of view. We want everyone to vote their conscience.

We want everyone on the school board to stop being on edge all the time. Stop looking for reasons to take offense and stomp off in a huff. Stop making mountains out of mole hills. Public office is no place for thin-skinned cry babies. Everybody takes everything so personally these days. It’s not personal, it’s just business.

If there’s a problem, don’t let it fester.

Hash it out and resolve it.

If it’s an issue that the board needs to discuss as a whole, then do it during a meeting in a productive manner that’s focused on solving the problem and improving things, not assigning blame or scrambling to claim the mantle of victimhood. It’s a board meeting, not a poor-me, pity party.

If two board members are having a problem with each other, they should discuss it one-on-one, which is not a violation of the Open Meetings Act. Get to know each other better. Go out and have a drink. You don’t have to become best friends, but you do have to come to some sort of an understanding, so you can work together for the common good.

As for Trustee Mike Schweig, we’re deeply disappointed by his decision to resign. He’s letting the voters who elected him down and his reason for doing so is poor.

We believe when someone is elected to public office, they’ve entered into a contract with the voters. In exchange for those votes, the official agrees to faithfully fulfill and discharge the duties of that position for a certain period of time, i.e. the term of office, be it two, four or six years.

The only time it’s acceptable for a public official to resign is when something sudden and/or major comes up such as a life-threatening illness, family crisis, job loss, career change, an unexpected need to move elsewhere, evidence or admission of wrongdoing, etc.

Schweig is resigning because there was a delay in having his comments added to the official minutes of a previous meeting, according to reporter Elise Shire’s front-page story in last week’s edition. He didn’t like the way things were handled and how long it took for this to happen, but ultimately, his remarks were added to the record and now, everyone is clear about what the policy is and how it works.

Problem solved, right? Wrong.

“This was the final straw,” said Schweig in a prepared statement he read at the June 13 board meeting. “I realized that, in the best interest of our district, I needed to stop, step aside and resign. Hopefully, my actions will lead to better conflict resolutions.”

To us, being upset about this minor procedural issue and making it the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back is a pretty flimsy reason to resign and Schweig is doing a disservice to everyone who voted for him and everyone he was elected to serve.

Frankly, it strikes us as rather petty.

Quitting doesn’t solve problems. Quitting doesn’t bring about reform.

All quitting does is allow the person doing it to take the easy way out.

Quitting something is the easiest thing in the world to do. There’s nothing noble or admirable about it.

Staying, rolling up your sleeves, ironing out differences, working together to improve things, communicating effectively – that’s hard work and that’s what our school board members should be doing.

Schweig’s term ends in December 2018. He should honor the commitment he made to the end. He should fulfill his contract with the voters.

If he doesn’t wish to seek re-election next year, that’s his right and his business.

But for now, he’s got a job to do and he shouldn’t be quitting, leaving it up to some appointee to do the work he was elected to do and promised to do.

Students are repeatedly told by teachers, coaches and administrators to finish what they start.

They’re not told, “Finish what you start unless you don’t like the way things are going, then by all means quit and let someone else take over.”

Oxford deserves better than Schweig’s running out on it. Oxford deserves better than the school board’s dysfunctional and embarrassing behavior.

Again, get your act together. – CJC