The Albert Lea school board could benefit from debate at its meetings.

The board meets on the first and third Mondays of most months, except when holidays throw the schedule off. The meetings are at 7 p.m., with a board workshop at 5 p.m.

The workshops are open to the public, but few people if any attend the workshops. By rule, no action is taken at the workshops &8212; but a lot of discussion happens there.

So when action is taken at the regular meetings, there is no or little disagreement. When there is discussion, it usually is to laud what the school district does. One time in December, when one member voted in opposition, that lone vote came as a nod to the chairman, rather than a vocal stated no. You had to be rather perceptive to even notice there was disagreement.

Really, the meetings are a dog-and-pony show.

Outside the meetings, the school board members and school administrators scratch their heads and say they wonder why the public doesn&8217;t understand their issues &8212; such as how the district can&8217;t transfer money between the capital budget and operating budget. This head-scratching happens especially when the school board seeks to increase taxes or float bonds through a ballot measure.

If there were more debate at the regular meetings &8212; the time when the public pays attention &8212; there would be greater understanding of school issues.

Sure, the school board and school district would have to go through some lumps, some not-so-positive discussion, some ups and downs, but out that roller coaster of public dialogue comes greater understanding of what is going on &8212; more importantly, a greater understanding of how the school district works.

And then, despite some vocal naysayers, they just have to trust that most of the public will understand their issues.

The Albert Lea City Council has its preagenda meeting, but there always seems to be further dialogue among its members at regular meetings. People learn from that civil debate.

Likewise, if the school board has to have a workshop &8212; because getting rid of it isn&8217;t a bad idea, either &8212; don&8217;t let it take the air out of healthy dialogue at the more scrutinized forum, the school board meetings. It might be rough getting some phone calls the next morning, but in the long term it&8217;s good to debate. As teachers of the history of Western Civilization can attest, knowledge comes from it.