A Lesson in Trust: When Public Confidence Falters
This past week in Claremont, New Hampshire, the public school board held an emergency meeting that left many shaken. The reason? A significant school budget deficit that had been growing for years, now at a catastrophic level. The board had recently learned the full extent of the problem and called the meeting to discuss it with the public.
However, a last-minute discovery complicated matters further, making it impossible to verify any immediate solutions. On the advice of legal and financial counsel, the board, understandably, couldn’t provide definitive answers.
Their caution, while legally prudent, created a vacuum. This silence was filled with the angry demands of a shaken community. The mistrust of the administration and the school board was palpable. Parents, students, former educators, and taxpayers lined up to ask, “Whose fault is this? When did you know? How bad is it? Who is going to lose their job over this?”
The Two-Way Street of Trust
The most remarkable moment of the evening, however, revealed a deeper truth about trust—it’s a two-way street. The initial fear and anger from the public were understandable. The lack of definitive answers was unsettling. Yet, amid the tension, something shifted.
Community members stood up and, with powerful conviction, began to ask, “What can we do?”
This was not a question of blame; it was an emphatic offer of partnership. It was the public extending its trust to the school board, saying, “We are in this with you.”
For this partnership to work, the board and its leadership must now trust the community in return. They must have faith that transparency, even with grim news, will be met not with panic and alarm, but with constructive support and a collective desire to find a solution.
Lessons for All Nonprofits
This experience in Claremont holds powerful lessons for any organization that relies on public trust:
- Don’t Mistake Keeping Silent for Protecting Yourself. While it may seem safer to withhold information, silence often breeds suspicion. Staying silent shows you don’t trust the public with the information. Be honest about not knowing, or needing to keep confidential but find ways to bring people in.
- Actively Build Bridges. In times of crisis, an organization’s first instinct might be to pull back and protect itself. But the most powerful response is to lean in and build bridges with your stakeholders. This means communicating openly, even when you don’t have all the answers, and actively inviting them to be part of the solution.
- Trust Your Community. The public isn’t just a source of funding or passive beneficiaries; they are your most valuable partners. When you show them that you trust their ability to handle difficult news and contribute meaningfully, they will often rise to the occasion.
Rebuilding trust after it has been broken is one of the hardest challenges a leader can face. It requires a willingness to be vulnerable and a deep belief that your community will meet you with the same sincerity you offer them. The path forward for the Claremont school board is unclear, but one thing is certain: they will need to trust their community to help them find their way.