There are some similarities and one big difference between gridlock in Washington DC and gridlock locally in Washington state. In both cases, the politicians continue to get their pay despite doing nothing to help their communities, and communities get a chance once in a while to fire them by voting them out, but in local government one big difference is that we can even do their job for them.

I am talking about laws developed by citizen groups in the form of propositions. In the same way that small holders of stock can ask shareholders to vote on, say using compostable cups in all corporate offices, the people can propose laws like freezing the rise in property tax assessments so that elderly homeowners aren’t forced out of their homes.

The reason I raise this is that I think the community can make great progress on changes they want to see in their Federal Way Public Schools by creating resolutions for the school board to vote on. Rather than come in for a three-minute talk on what they want to see the board do, they could hand us a resolution, such as:

• Whereas, The All American City of Federal Way is regionally tied by proximity to direct support of operations at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the Bremerton Naval Base; and

• Whereas, We consider the citizens of the All American City of Federal Way to be fully supportive of military installations as top three employers in our state; and

• Whereas, Federal Way High School and Decatur High School have shown positive results in student achievement from the discipline and structure afforded by Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps programs at their schools; and

• Whereas, Federal Way Public Schools has a stated objective to improve educational outcomes for their students;

Therefore Be It Resolved, That the Superintendent convene a committee to evaluate our ability to support expansion of the Junior Reserve Officer Training programs to Todd Beamer High School and Thomas Jefferson High School through the programs under the Department of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps; and if viable from the perspective of community support, student participation requirements, teaching staff and administrative support should prepare a report to the Federal Way Public Schools board of education that includes a recommended timeline and budget for executing such an expansion.

The board cannot possibly be the exclusive “good idea factory” for Federal Way Public Schools.

Considering how the Open Public Meetings Act prevents the board from collaborating on ideas except in open public forums, I believe it can be extremely difficult to develop well-crafted resolutions.

Community resolutions could help the district to move forward faster on great citizen developed initiatives that help the educational and life outcomes for our children. I am not saying the school board is unable to do the job. I am saying that the community has another way to participate in the improvement of their schools beyond a three minute talk and/or prayer.

Hiroshi Eto, Federal Way Public Schools board