Local representation of the community in the decision-making process for issues that affect Banks' children is an essential part of democracy. This is only feasible through a healthy conversation between the community and decision makers.

Before the October 2021 school board meeting, the Banks community requests the board and district superintendent make the following changes to the way the board and superintendent engage with the community:

1. Establish a town hall open forum to be held the hour prior to every regularly scheduled school board meeting.  The purpose of this forum would be to allow community members, on all sides of an issue, to have the opportunity to engage in respectful discussions and give the school board insight into the community's position on important issues.

2. Establish a standard method for gathering community feedback on issues of concern, similar to previous ad hoc efforts involving online surveys.  Solicit feedback from the community when requested by a to-be-determined number of Banks community members.

3. Be 100% transparent in sharing the results of those surveys. Community members are to have access to anonymous survey results, and data is to be presented to the public.

4. Commit to responding in writing to every question posed to the school board and superintendent at a school board meeting. This could take the form of a monthly Q&A publication, for example.