We hear the term “Community Stakeholder” in school policies and meetings. But exactly, what does it REALLY mean? If you lookup the term, you will see it’s generally defined as: people, groups, organizations or businesses that have interest or concern in the community. That kind of seems to make sense. But does it apply in practice or practicality? Over the years, we have observed the elusive term in its application, and a “community stakeholder” as defined by our government is as meaningless as the picture above.
Every tax-paying citizen is a stakeholder, but they’ve been excluded by the school system. The very ones that fund the school, provide infrastructure to get to school, create businesses, jobs, and employ those that graduate are excluded. Tax-paying citizens are excluded when they become inconvenient or an obstacle to a school’s political agenda.
For example, our schools have many policies which specify parents and faculty as the only ones having a say. Then, the schools hypocritically bypass the tax-paying citizens and allow political organizations and agencies outside of the community to influence, shape, and have a say in local policies and practices.
A specific example would be curriculum, textbook, and media selection policies. They allow organizations and agencies outside of the community, like the American Library Association, Planned Parenthood, PFLAG, BLM, U.S Department of Education, Maryland State Board of Education, the teachers’ unions, and hired consultants to collaborate with school administration to insert political bias and sexually-explicit materials into the schools. Protections are then put in place through local policy to protect these practices and agendas, while the tax-paying citizen is excluded from having a say.
Any tax-paying citizen should be able to question or request the review of a book or material used in a county public school. However, tax-paying citizens are disregarded and excluded as a community stakeholder.
The school so often speaks of being inclusive, but their actions are exclusive. Liberalism and immorality are embraced, and conservativism and morality are ignored. If you are a faith-based organization that exists in truth and in alignment with the Word of God, then you are excluded as a community stakeholder (or will be if they find out you are). If you are a faith-based organization that is a compromising or corrupt church (Revelation 2:12-29), a dead church (Revelation 3:1-6), or a Lukewarm church (Revelation 3:14-22) that hypocritically ignores the word of God in support of all worldliness, money, political correctness, or follow along with whatever is trending, then you are considered a community stakeholder.
How does the Maryland Constitution define a community stakeholder? “The People.”
Joan of Arc was a stakeholder.
Most often we’re the only stakeholders, i.e., the ones left holding the stake.