Posted on RespectTheNeighborhood.com

So here’s a question that’s been stuck in my head lately:
How can a school call itself a community organization when the people who actually live in that community don’t get to elect a single person who runs it?

After months of living with the noise, dust, and general chaos that the West Genesee “community” project brought to our homes — the same project that changed our backyards forever — I started thinking about that word they love to use: community.

It sounds nice.
It feels warm.
It looks great in a mission statement.
But what does it really mean when the board meetings are closed, the decisions are made behind the scenes, and the people paying the taxes — literally footing the bill — are left in the dark?

Off-Cycle “Democracy”

These elections they talk about?
They happen off-cycle, on random weekdays, when barely anyone even knows they exist.
Turnout’s often in the single digits.

Sometimes nobody even runs against the incumbents.
And when someone resigns, the board just quietly appoints their replacement.
👉 No ballot. No say. No community.

The Aftermath We’re Left With

Meanwhile, we’re the ones living with the aftermath.
We’re the ones who had to scrub dust off our siding, replace fence plans, and watch property values dip because someone else decided that “progress” was more important than people.

That’s not community.
That’s control — dressed up in friendly language and a school logo.

Earn the Word

If they really want to use the word community, then they should have to earn it.

Real community means accountability, transparency, and representation —
not “forums” where the decisions are already made,
and not “outreach” that starts after the bulldozers arrive.

Until then, let’s stop pretending we’re all in this together.
Because the truth is, some of us are out here cleaning up while others are cutting ribbons.

— Respect the Neighborhood