You don’t have to serve on the board. You don’t have to run for School Board. But you should at least vote.

It’s important. For the kids, the teachers and other staff, the community.

And, not incidentally, the School Board members themselves. What message do you send when you stay home?

It takes a lot of volunteers to make a community. You probably volunteer yourself. It’s the dues we pay to live in Eastern Iowa. The return to the volunteer in satisfaction can be many times the effort expended.

So it is with School Board service.

But few volunteers give so much. As I’ve sometimes said, “The job may pay nothing, but at least you get a lot of grief.”

The way I’ve gone about School Board service has often consumed 30 hours a week. That includes such things as the Internet research for this biweekly column (also unpaid), drafting board documents, other reading, answering a hefty amount of daily e-mail and phone calls, attending school events, other visits and organizations’ meetings. Time in School Board meetings is the least of it.

Three years ago I announced I was signing on for only one term. That term and this column end two weeks from today. But not my interest in the school district.

Given all you are asking my replacement to do – whomever that may turn out to be – the least we can do is to bestir ourselves to go vote.

Take a child with you to the polls. Our under-10-percent turnouts in School Board elections are disgraceful. What kind of a message does that send our teachers and students about the importance of democracy?

How about the proposal that those who appear before the board during public sessions must first prove they voted in the last election? It’s not serious. Of course the board should, and does, hear from everyone.

But the proposal makes the point.

Good schools don’t just happen.

They require students who want to learn. Parents who read to their newborns and then support their daily academic progress through 13 years of school. Skilled and dedicated teachers, staff and administrators.

But they also require School Board members who exemplify the skills we expect of our students. Board members who are not only able to, but who do, regularly engage in research, reading and writing. Board members who demand data before arriving at decisions.

We have such a board. It’s a remarkably well-balanced collection of skills and experience. And it has the track record to prove it.

An evolving governance system that is the envy of school districts elsewhere. An answer, in the form of ends policies, to the question, “How would we know if we’d ever been successful?” A management information system that produces regular reports on progress toward district goals.

Some examples of results? A friendly superintendent. Improved relations between administration and teachers, including a two-year contract without the need for arbitration. Better two-way communication with stakeholders. More resources for reading. Work toward a 10- or 20-year plan for educational opportunities and innovations, building utilization and class size. Sound financial planning.

Are there things we could have done differently? Sure. No one knows that better than the board members themselves. Most School Boards are passive rubber stamps for their superintendent. We’ve evolved into a School Board of individuals actually doing the job of board members. Of course that’s created bumps along the road.

But it’s also a board that has avoided arrogance and intransigence. A board willing to admit mistakes and change direction when appropriate.

However our School Board is configured after today’s election, it has much work to do. What it does, and how it does it, will have an impact not only on our children but all of us.

That impact, in turn, depends on your willingness to go vote today.

Please do.

Nicholas Johnson is an Iowa City School Board member. More information is available on his Web site www.nicholasjohnson.org.