President Lambert writes column on the importance of the upcoming local election

To make America better, we need to begin by investing in our local community

​It is hard not to be discouraged every time we turn on the news or pick up the newspaper. To give one obvious example, our dysfunctional Congress, with approval ratings averaging 14 percent, is paralyzed and unable to govern, even for straightforward tasks, such as making Social Security fully solvent for many more decades, to say nothing about finding solutions to more intractable issues facing our nation and world. Organizations – businesses, universities, communities or nations – which fail to pursue long-term goals simply because they are hard, will drift and inevitably decline.  

I still hold out great hope that America can be revitalized from the ground up, one community at a time. If this is to be true, local elections, which have an enormous influence on our day-to-day lives, are of paramount importance. This fall’s elections in Alamance County, particularly the races for the Board of Education and the Board of County Commissioners, are particularly important in determining what kind of community we will be in 2020 and beyond – thriving or decaying. We are at a crossroads. I ask that we bear two important factors in mind as we go into this election season.

First, leadership matters. Talented leadership is priceless. Leaders with vision and integrity can bring focus and energy to important goals and inspire others to achieve. The wrong leader can stifle innovation, cause dissention and distrust, and quickly drive an organization into a ditch. Good leaders will help an organization soar. We are very fortunate to have many fine candidates for public office in Alamance County this year ­– people with depth of character, broad experience, accomplishment and integrity, and interested in creating a bright and prosperous future for our community, especially for our children. Let’s choose wisely.

Second, public education is the single most important issue in this election. If we want to bring quality jobs to this area, we need better public schools. If we want to prepare our children to compete in a global economy, public education here needs to be world class. We cannot afford to be the broken link in the chain along the growing Carolina Corridor, stretching from Research Triangle Park to Charlotte. It is unacceptable to have newcomers to our region choose to live over the county line, east or west, because they are seeking higher quality education for their children.

Our schools are far from broken. We are fortunate to have many talented teachers and principals in the Alamance-Burlington School System; equally crucial, we have many families involved and invested in the quality of their children’s education. But this is a critical year for ABSS as a strategic plan emerges, which will hopefully raise our collective aspirations for how our schools can achieve excellence and distinction. We should expect this plan to be clear, specific and free of vague jargon. It should address both the capital and programmatic needs of our schools. And it must take the long-term view, because it is going to take years of hard work and careful investment to get to where we need to be. Having served as Elon University’s president for nearly 16 years, I can speak from experience about the value of a good plan and how targeted, strategic investments can foster innovation and excellence.

We live in an age when “good enough” schools are not good enough. People with great educations are going to have a much easier time building flourishing careers and lives in the 21 century, while those who are undereducated will be set back and may never catch up. We have important decisions to make this fall. I hope we decide well.

Leo M. Lambert
President, Elon University