If you have school-age children and don't live in Cobb County, Ga., prepare to be jealous. Because what you're about to find out is we have one of the most progressive and forward thinking school boards in the entire U. S. of A. Not only do our teachers provide lessons to students, but the school administrators and the board do as well. Especially the latter. This fine group of men and women unselfishly give of themselves and their principles to teach our children valuable civics lessons.

We'll get to the particulars in a moment, but suffice it to say that what you're about to be privy to is the kind of direct participatory action that should be taking place all over the country. With congressional approval ratings hovering around the single digits, and wary taxpayer eyes being cast on government agencies from small municipalities to the White House, the exploits of Cobb's school board stand as a testament to real-life representative democracy in all its glory.

For several years now, the occupier of the superintendent's chair (a handsomely compensated chair, by the way, courtesy of Cobb County homeowners/parents), has been on a crusade to extend the school year.

Traditionally, at least for many over the age of 35, the first day of class was right around Labor Day. The state-mandated 180 days of readin', writin', and 'rithmetic ended a week or so after Memorial Day in early June. Essentially, that gave kids pretty much three months of summer vacation. Mostly, that meant heading outside in the morning, playing with friends until peanut butter sandwiches were served, then repeating same until dinner. After that meal, a game of tag often ensued, ending only when the sun disappeared. Camp, swimming pool visits and family vacations were interspersed into this rigorous routine.

Cobb's supers, however, began slowly encroaching on this summer time respite a few days at a time. In a good year, they latched on to a week. There were initial howls of protest, but like most government programs such as (insert your favorite federal entitlement program here), once the ball got rolling, it was virtually impossible to stop.

Each fall, when the new school calendar was being drawn up for the next year, concerned parents would dutifully show up at what were supposed to be open discussion forums. Those who wanted to speak were given about five minutes ... well, exactly five minutes to state their opinions about the constant push back of opening day. Usually, they were politely thanked, and the board voted exactly the way the superintendent saw fit.

This year, a new wrinkle was added. And here's where it really becomes a great lesson for students. Two of the new school board members were recently elected on a solid straight-forward platform of reversing the trend toward earlier starts. Supporters (the aforementioned Cobb County homeowners/parents) contributed time and money to help these folks achieve ballot box success.

As any Social Studies teacher worth his or her salt would tell the class, "Because this person campaigned on a specific platform and promised to vote that way, his/her constituents would have every reason to believe that's what he/she would do."

But, to quote Paul Harvey, this is "the rest of the story."

This year, the Cobb superintendent put forth a proposal for school to start Aug. 2 in 2010. Yes, you read that right. If my math is correct, that puts the start of the school year closer to July Fourth than it does Labor Day.

A school board meeting was held to take a vote on this proposal last week. Those previously howling parents showed up in force and their numbers had grown exponentially in the past few years. Instead of five minutes to speak, protestors were given 90 seconds. And at least one was escorted away from the podium by uniformed police before she was finished.

By the end of the meeting, the board had voted to adopt the "balanced calendar" for three years, and school is set to start on Aug. 2. But here's the kicker. Board members who had explicitly promised to support the traditional late summer start date voted for the early start date.

And thus, the valuable lesson for students: Don't trust a politician. That kind of knowledge will stand Cobb County students in good stead throughout their lives. Just try learning that in a classroom. Yes, sir, you can't beat a school board that teaches as well as legislates.

Bill Lewis is a freelance writer in Marietta.