School district putting off the tough issues until after the election?
To the editor:
The financial situation for the Lee School District is desperate. They will lose some $30 million and have already been firing low- level employees and cutting programs. But in this catastrophic situation, the board has never discussed any plan to deal with it because there is no plan, just cut and burn the employees. And things will be worse next year and after that.
A number of counties are implementing a program to borrow from construction funds to pay for operating expenses. This requires voter approval and Bob Chilmonik has twice introduced the idea that could free up some of the $40 million sitting in construction funds. But on both occasions the board refused to even discuss it. The superintendent comes forth with facile excuses why it won’t work, but he has no answer as to why Collier County is implementing the idea. Is he afraid of it because it would be on the August ballot with the three incumbents seeking re-election and questions might embarrass them? Is this the Browder Puppet Protection Plan to save his rubber stamp board?In a similar vein, the superintendent met with the unions and agreed to stall off any raises until after Sept. 30. Now, Sept. 30 is a meaningless arbitrary, as nothing will change and no new monies will appear. This looks like another attempt to keep pay raises and layoffs out of the public eye until after the August election.
If there is another reason why the board is afraid even to discuss these ideas except political chicane, let me know. And why are the union members accepting this shabby treatment without protest? Is that why almost half of the teachers do not join the union?
Peter Stewart Hare
Cape Coral