The Unappreciated Power of Public Comment

I asked Alisa Bowman, an Emmaus resident who served on the East Penn board, to reflect on what she’d learned. Her thoughts below can help all of us strengthen our schools. -Z.W. Munson

I’m fortunate that I only regret two of the countless votes I cast during my eight years of service as an East Penn School Director. Of those votes, one closed the schools to prevent the spread of COVID during a pandemic surge. People say, “hindsight is 20-20” for a reason. Knowing what I know now about the effectiveness of masking and the harm of social isolation, I would have voted differently.

Another was a vote earlier this year in favor of a LERTA (Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance). Westrum Development had requested the tax break for their work in cleaning up and transforming an 8.5-acre Emmaus brownfield—a former foundry—into luxury apartments.

When the idea of the tax break first came up, I strongly opposed it for so many reasons. Primarily, I worried that the apartments would flood the district with students, adding costs to the district that dwarfed the tax revenue the apartments eventually generated, even if the complex paid its full tax bill.

Several board members did not share my views, but they were clearly in the minority. Over time, they made impassioned pleas, trying to sway me and other board members to vote “yes” rather than “no.” At the same time, we heard little from the community. No one spoke for or against the proposal during public comment. If my memory serves correctly, we received just two emails, one against and one for. One of the taxpayers in favor of the LERTA had opposed offering a similar, but much larger tax break for the development of Hamilton Crossings in Lower Macungie Township back in 2014, several years before my service on the board. This person argued that the Hamilton Crossings tax break would ultimately cost the district $12 million over 20 years. In comparison, the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Westrum project were a drop in the bucket, the person told the board.

Still, as the vote for the LERTA approached, I remained opposed.

Then, likely knowing he lacked the votes to pass the measure, our board president offered a compromise, cutting the size of the tax break considerably. The original proposal was for $800,000 over five years. The in-meeting amendment reduced it to $400,000 over three.

I immediately felt conflicted.

As a former chair of the local Sierra Club, I appreciated that the developer would be cleaning up a polluted brownfield that had sat vacant for years. If a new apartment complex had to go somewhere, I’d rather see it sprout up on a brownfield than a cornfield.

In addition, I thought of myself as someone who valued compromise. During the precious few minutes I had to mull the board president’s amendment, I wondered, “Do I truly value compromise? If I do, what price tag would I be willing to accept?”

These thoughts clouded my mind, even as the board secretary did the roll call. Finally, when she came to me, I offered a weak “yes,” and immediately regretted it. I still do.

I’ve thought about that vote often, trying to understand better what encouraged me to say “yea” when my soul so clearly was saying “nay.” The lack of public comment continues to nag at me. Had the community voiced opposition before that decisive vote—rather than after—I likely would have voted differently.

Sadly, our local media outlets rarely cover school board meetings these days. When they do, they often only write about final votes—and rarely about measures the board is still weighing. East Penn’s meetings are livestreamed and available on YouTube for anyone to watch. However, only a couple of hundred people do so, despite the many thousands of stakeholders who are affected by board decisions.

As a result, the public usually learns about controversial topics after the votes have been cast—and when it’s too late to make a difference.

The thing is, public comment can be powerfully persuasive.

People like to say that the board doesn’t listen. However, during my eight years on the board, I’ve seen public comment sway votes on multiple occasions. Not long after I was first elected to the board, a high school student pleaded with the board to save an astronomy program at the high school. At the time, the board was unaware that any potential cuts were coming. Enough of us must have questioned the superintendent that the student got his wish. The program was saved.

East Penn students are particularly effective at public comment—usually much more persuasive than most adults. Some of that credit goes to their English Language Arts teachers, who excel at teaching rhetorical writing and speaking. Unlike many adults, these students know that name-calling doesn’t change minds. Instead, they use storytelling, statistics, and research to present their cases. Watch the public comment section of the May 2025 meeting to see several of them in action.

We can all look to these students as role models. When they want to see change, they do something. They attend board meetings, and they email board members. I know that, as I shift out of my role as a board member to my role as a taxpayer, I will be following their example.

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