Editor’s note: Often overlooked, the government closest to the people often has the most impact on daily life. Each week, The Underground’s J. Michael Redd makes a new stop on his deep listening tour, training his watchful eye and empathetic ears on a local government meeting.

TOOELE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

About a mile and a half from the spacious new Tooele County School District (TCSD) offices, stands the small, rock Historic Tooele County Courthouse where, in 1874, members of the pro-Mormon Peoples Party occupied the Courthouse –day and night– after they lost a disputed election to the anti-Mormon Liberal Party.   

The Peoples Party eventually left the building after Brigham Young told them they must follow the orders of the District Court Judge James B. McKean who ruled the Liberal Party victors.

The backstories of politics are interesting and personal, and Tooele County has its share of interestingness and unique personalities.  In pursuit of those stories, I traveled to Tooele County on Tuesday, January 19 to attend the TCSD Board of Education meeting.  

School district meetings may be as up-close and personal as public life gets. It is not some person on the TV in a different city or state whose views or actions so match your own or make you crazy; at a school district meeting it is likely a neighbor or relative.

The president of the Tooele County School District Board is positioned to shape what is discussed and what will be recorded about those discussions.

After new members Robert Gowans and ValaRee Shields were sworn in, Mr. Gowans was nominated for president of the school board; his candidacy failed when a simple majority of the board voted “Nay.”   Next Melissa Rich, a returning member of the board, was nominated and she was elected via voice vote, and by a simple majority.

I spoke off the record with a local resident and astute political observer who noted the differences between Mr. Gowans and Mrs. Rich may be substantive, as Mr. Gowans is the voice of the teacher’s union (TEA), and Mrs. Rich the voice of the majority of the taxpayers.

The TCSD is not among the wealthiest of the state but has a large student population, and with financial pressures to build more schools and make existing schools safe against armed intruders, and with teachers having to do more due to the pandemic and with fewer resources of time; even having prep time reduced, the TCSD and its stakeholders can be the personalities that make for interesting meetings in 2021.