Them against him
The antagonism between maverick Scott O’Connell and the rest of the D58 school board flared again Monday night, as the board considered steps to limit O’Connell’s “excessive” requests for information from district administrators.
Board member Tom Cunningham suggested requests that would be time consuming to fulfill, such as O’Connell’s request for drawings and schematics relating to the replacement of the Herrick Middle School gym floor, should be made by more than a single board member.
Administrators “have better things to do,” Cunningham said. “They’re busy running the district unless other members feel it’s something we need to see as a board.”
Vice president Marshall Schmitt differed with Cunningham’s approach, saying “I hesitate to put limits on what a board member can request in the way of information.”
However, “the problem is very severe,” Schmitt said, and should be addressed by a formal board policy that would “put discretion in the hands of the superintendent to make the decision if a request is worth the district’s time.”
“If a board member feels they aren’t getting the information they need, they can bring it to the board,” Schmitt said.
While Cunningham felt such an approach could leave the superintendent open to charges of favoritism, Schmitt argued that basing the acceptance of a request on the amount of time it would take to fulfill would also be problematic.
“The problem is if there’s a request that may take several hours but is reasonable,” he said. “We need to create some sort of protection for the superintendent…so if there are charges of favoritism, there’s a procedure in place.”
Board member Liz Davis criticized the tone and volume of O’Connell’s memos while acknowledging that “board members should be allowed access to information to do their jobs.
“This has been addressed multiple times and it’s never been resolved,” she said. “We need to find a solution here.”
Schmitt agreed that “we’ve reached the point where I realize people aren’t going to change.”
“We’ve censured people. We’ve taken action,” he said. “What Tom is saying is we need to build an institutional solution to provide for everyone’s interest being protected, most importantly the constituents of this district.”
O’Connell took issue with the need for such a policy. “What if a member has a request and it’s simply for data? Is it up to the other board members to control the information the board member gets?”
Acting superintendent Paul Zaander said a request that could be responded to as a typical Freedom of Information Act question was “no problem” for the administration.
“If it’s more lengthy, such as data we have to compile or create, we could put it on the communications agenda,” he suggested.
O’Connell replied that he had asked for information on the district’s salary structure during recent contract negotiations and “you already gave it to six other board members and asked them if I should get it. I did not think that was appropriate.”
“Be careful, Scott,” Schmitt said. “I don’t want you discussing things from closed session. That is totally inappropriate and a complete breach of your responsibility as a board member.”
“But to address the substance of your question, if you are directing the staff of the district to invest resources and analyze and pull together information then, yes, it is the position of this board to limit that,” Schmitt said.
“You do not have the authority to cause this district to incur expense for your benefit. That is a decision the board needs to make,” he said. “Reasonable requests are appropriate, but if they result in the district expending resources, it’s a board decision.”
O’Connell argued that his questions have had a positive impact. “I was asking questions about the budget and nobody likes to hear those questions.”
“If I have an easier time getting access to information, I won’t be asking so many questions,” he said.
The board agreed to send the matter to the policy committee for action.
How is O’Connell still on the board? Anyone who has been to a board meeting or spoke with him about educational/financial issues can tell you that he has no idea what he is doing. He is doing this community a disservice, and will end up costing us more money than he thinks he is saving us.
Besides that he is rude, inconsiderate, ignorant, and grossly misinformed on the job of a school board member. I applaud the rest of the school board and the hard work they have done with putting up with him.
Our schools will be just fine with or with out any of the board members. As long as you have teachers teaching and students learning the schools will be fine.
Hey Concerned,
Has the board apologized to the voters for their inaccurate financial numbers after the last referendum? Do they know what they’re doing? And considering Zander to replace Martin? That’s just another person from the same club. Doesn’t the superintendent job pay enough to attract a CEO type person who has a track record of fiscal responsibility. Why limit ourselves to the same old way of doing things.
Tell that to the Washington DC pubic school district, where only 12% of the of the 8th graders know how to read.
But I guess they’re OK because they have “teachers teaching and students learning” – whatever that means.
We need a smart board of education to avoid bureaucracy.
In today’s age of standardized tests, “students learning” is apparently not enough.
PS- I agree with Pete too much nepotism/”club membership”.
I also agree an apology for that blunder is in order.
Concerned,
What Not So should have said was “teachers and parents teaching”. The biggest difference between our kids and a lot of socially disadvantaged kids is the level of parental involvement. Even the best school board in the country would have a hard time changing that.
I couldn’t help but notice that Mr. Zaander was referred to as the “Superintendent” not “Acting..” of 58 in the similar article in the Sun this week. Is this a done deal?
Mr. Craven has a great point. With the plus 200K salary and cushy benefits package can we not attract the creme de la creme?
How many of you agree with how the Admin was run over the last few years by Mr. Zaander and his collegues? The voters spoke last spring and the Board should pay attention. Mr. O’C is obviously not going to change his ways. An overhaul in the Admin and how they go about business might eliminate his perceived need for supplemental information.
Anyone who knows Mr. Zaander, as Hmm obviously does not, is aware of his incredibly high standards of personal and professional ethics and integrity. Furthermore, last year Mr. Zaander was not in charge of the financial business of the school district, so saying that he was guilty of running over the school board is inflammatory, ignorant, and just plain false.
If Scott O’Connell is a jerk, than everyone should change their ethics, standards and board policies just to mollify him? If all Mr. O’Connell can point to is a failed referendum and his part in it as his reason for refusing to engage in appropriate, professional behavior as a school board member, than I say the voters got what they deserve.
Furthermore, I imagine there are many qualified applicants for the Superintendent’s position who are going to take one look at the acrimonious, poisonous atmosphere of the school board and run fast in the other direction.
I ran into Scott O’Connell at the library before he was elected to the school board. He was pouring over the books trying to make sense of the districts financials, that is when he discovered the error in the finacials. I am calling it an error, you call it whatever you want. At the same time that he was spending countless hours trying to figure out that mess the school board representatives where at PTA meetings trying to scare the parents into supporting their referendum for a tax increase. (I believe it was Mr. Cunningham who told us at the meeting that the schools were going to go broke and would have to be taken over by the state.) How is anyone supposed to make and informed, inteligent decision without all the facts?
Prag, I will take your word for it that Mr. Zaander is a high quality individual. I agree the he also was not in charge of the financial business of the district. Seems like no one was. He is also the easy choice when it comes to selecting a new superintendent because he knows the system and it’s strengths and weaknesses. I would just like the board to look at other high quality individuals who don’t belong to the club. I am not an advocate of perpetuating the kingdom, especially with its “acrimonious, poisonous atmosphere”. This is our chance to get some fresh blood into this old system. Some candidates may run away but there may be some who see the job as a challenge. Like it or not, the current board and administration are tainted by the failed referendum. I don’t need Scott O’Connell to tell me that.
We live in a forgiving community but I don’t see the board or adminstration folks looking for forgiveness after that referendum. They want to lay everything on Scott O’Connell instead of addressing problems that existed long before he was on the board.
Wow, touched a nerve didn’t I? And no I do not “know” Mr. Zaander as you do so well. Accordingly I will not deliniate any professional interactions nor will I engage in personal attacks or name calling. Such posts are clearly discouraged by our host.
I also did not state that he directed the district’s finances but presented what I see as the best solution to further a more productive school district.
I have heard from others that Zaander is a caring and qualified individual. I appreciated the fact that he returned my phone call quickly a few weeks back, and he was also willing to be interviewed for an earlier column.
However, I have found him non-committal on issues that I felt were pretty non-controversial, including my concerns about a bus I clocked at 75 mph on a field trip and concerns about differentiated education, which I brought to him years ago as a mother, not a reporter.
Obviously, he may have been more guarded in his responses because he had a boss to answer to. It will be interesting to see how he manages the district now that he’s in the top spot (at least temporarily).
Just to clarify, Hmm, you did say, “How many of you agree with how the Admin was run over the last few years by Mr. Zaander and his collegues?”
I’d call that a personal and professional attack and yes, they are discouraged by our hostess.
I hate to get involved in a cat fight but I read it as “run” (as in managed) over the last few years, not “run over” (like squashed by a steam roller). The first one, definitely not an insult, just a question. Read it the second way, maybe it’s an insult, maybe it’s an opinion. Hmm, could you rephrase and tell us what you really mean? Can you tell I’m working from home today?
Uh yeah, maybe could have used a comma. I intended “run” as in “administered”.
Some of our most veteran posters misplace punctuation now and then, don’t they?
Concerned…
I am concerned for the incompetent board members…NOT OC, who tried to get a tax increase they didn’t need. THEY ASKED FOR OConnell, and WE as taxpayers, gave him to them….For their own political sakes, they better stop publicly torturing him, because they have made him into a taxpayer MARTYR. Risen from the ashes of a yes man school board, who gave an obnoxious Superintendent anything he wanted, with no questions asked. With OC, you don’t have to worry about your schools, you need to worry about the politically entrenched board members who are trying to make the new guys, who isn’t part of the club, look bad.
The guy that does not send his kids to DG schools rallied against a tax increase and gained a little noteriety. Great.
He destroyed any good he could possibly have done by showing up and being a nut job. The board and Super were a little pompous and needed to get knocked down a little, but OC is way over the top. He is just trying to be a distraction to be a distraction. He does not care about the schools at all. He just wants to cause a ruckus and is doing so….probably at the expense of some secretary that has to look up all of the stuff he FOIA’s.
csuob..-
Puuuhleease….don’t even try to make it look like a
guy who pays TWICE for his kids education doesn’t care about education… You will find the school that teaches his children, like other private schools, crank out well educated kids on shoe string budgets. Teachers and Principals who don’t do the job are terminated swiftly, because those schools can’t afford to carry anyone not pulling their weight. Not saying D58 doesn’t, cause D58 does a really good job.
But the non-attending parent/ board member argument is a faulty one at that, especially when you are referring to someone who wants to add religion in their child’s education. One could say he definitely puts his money where is mouth is, by paying d58 taxes and then tuition on top of that. I have spoken to him directly and find he cares a lot about education, specifically public education. Have you specifically asked him about his stance, or are you just trying to run with the entrenched political elite in this town?
Also, it is quite common to get a non attending educated adult on a school board for some “checks and balances” to the tax payer. Someone who understands how to weigh the delicate balance of top notch education with the argument that the district needs to raise taxes at every turn.
Concerned,
You wrote “We need a smart board of education to avoid bureaucracy.”
That is exactly what we have. Bureaucracy. Most school boards just complicate the education system. Again, you need teachers who “teach” and students who want to learn.
Pete,
You are 100% correct when you added to my statement the parents teaching part. I couldn’t agree more. Learning starts at home not in the classroom.
You attacked me for talking about his kids not going to the schools, but never defended him for being a nut job. I guess he has no defense.
I attacked your flawed statement not you. I believe the majority of the text was defending his choice of schools and how that doesn’t preclude him from being a qualified board member. I think he is aggressive in his ways and certainly needs the corners edged off, but so do the arrogant few others up their who choose to publicly flogged him. They also look nice egotistical arrogant yes men/women. If they were smart, they would just shut up and not provide him fuel. But NO…they have to try to publicly humiliate him, purely to stoke their egos. What makes me think that if you get some more new blood on the board that the public “displays” of disdain for OC will wither away and die?
Name one thing he has done to promote education. I agree that the board needed to be knocked down a little, and the Superintendent a lot, but OC is just way too nutty. He could have been a bulldog and not have been the center of attention.
1. Paul Zaander is amazing both as a person and an administrator – they all have specific duties and please do not compare him to our prior superintendant – he is nothing like him. Also, who says he even has put IN for the job?
2. Scott O’C may care about public education, but his diatribes and wasting taxpayers time and money is not in ANYONE’s best interest except HIS He needs to learn how to do the job he was elected to do without all this other stuff clouding it – do the job -why the heck does he nee dto know the dimensions of Herrick’s gym? and why does he need an FOIA request to get it – that’s just not “there” someowhere?
3. There teachers in our district who are not teaching our kids… people need to take a lot at that stuff too
SCott gets SO caught up in his own little agendsas there are all these other sb issues he is ignoring.. come one – he needs to see the BIG picture
3. There are teachers who are not teaching our kids.
Agreed. While the vast majority are doing a good or very good job, there are some who are not.
So what do we do about it? Contact our board members?
When are Marshall Schmitt and Tom Cunnigham going to stop acting like spoiled brats. They need to get over themselves and be concerned about our students. They just keep trying to think of ways to discredit Mr. O’Connell and the great job he is doing. Keep up the great work Scott.
I have found, like Village Council board members, If you have a question for Scott as to why he asks for things he does, he can give you an answer….an intelligent answer. Debbie, I don’t know why he has to FOIA everything. Usually its cause when someone asks “pretty please” they are ignorned. Scott has told us he has been ignored many many times by those who run things in our costra nostra….sorry I mean School board.
DG DAD – good point but WHY does he keep wanting to see so much – do you have any idea the mounds of paperwork and information the SB is given at any time? He is not doing the job at HAND when he is worried about everything over there and over there… yes, he does make a few legitimate points, I will give him that. BUT there is a way to do things, a process and procedure and he says (talk about spoiled brats) no I want this and I want this and I want it NOW etc.
I do not see him doing the job he was elected to do – I really don’t.
here’s how I see it. He is getting ganged up on by an entrenched board who is ignoring him because he is an “outsider”…not part of their club. He has also questioned their past actions…”HOW DARE HIM!”. He is rough and abrupt, but as a battering ram for breaking a political entrenched “yes man” wall, that might just be what we as taxpayers need. I wouldn’t want an entire board of OC’s, and I truly hope he tones down a bit. But the political yes men must also TONE DOWN their actions against him, especially in public. They look as bad as he does.
I for one am very thankful the Scott O’Connell is willing to pour over the paperwork and really delve deep into the school board workings and the details regarding the schools. Our district has been run the past years by a tyrannical ruler and when they balk about getting Scott information, I for one think what are they hiding? Why don’t they want him to have access to information regarding the schools. Scott is meticulous and if anyone out there thinks he doing this just for fun, your crazy.
He is not doing it for fun, he is doing it to be a thorn in people’s side – and it’s working. They balk at his requests for information because he already receives SO MUCH and they have to WASTE THEIR TIME (away from their JOBS) to get the information fo rhim
they aren’t hiding anything – he just likes to waste time and cause trouble…
I am not thankful for him, I am annoyed by him and those who support him
Is 58 that disorganized that they can’t ever find anything? Toss him the keys to the file cabinet, and tell him to knock himself out.
He asks for little teeny tiny miniscule details that no one CARES about except him and they are not needed to DO his elected job!
If you do not want a whole Board of SOC’s then you better be very careful who you vote for and stay very informed!
Also, if we do not find GOOD people to step up to the plate, we are in deep trouble!
I do not agree that the current Board has been yes men and women. I feel that they work very hard at their jobs and there is a lot that goes on outside of those meetings you do not see or hear about – they get about 6 inches of paperwork on FRIDAY and it has to be read, dissemeninated and decided on by TUESDAY.
Debbie:
Would you mind defining the sort of good people you would like to see step up to the plate?
As an elected official in another suburban community, I must applaud Mr. O’Connell for his commitment to obtaining information by which to make his decisions as a representative of the community. The label of ‘maverick’ in this article indicates that his approach is not in line with the status quo of the current school board. As DGDAD indicated, his approach may need to be attenuated some, but his fundamental position of “give the taxpayers information on how and why their money is being spent” is completely appropriate. In fact, I wonder why other DG community members are not asking the same questions. BTW – no board member/trustee should ever have to FOIA for information – they have legal and fiduciary responsibilities and this information is by law theirs to access.
An Elected Official,
Maybe you should move to our town, we could use some good people here.
There are few things more creepy than turning on the lights and seeing cockroaches scurry to avoid detection.
I suppose one thing more creepy than the running cockroaches are the types of people who curse the person who turns on the light instead of calling the exterminator.
Public Education in Illinois has become a legalized money laundering scheme, and the hatred aimed at the Scott O’Connells of the world is merely an example of a warped worldview.
This worldview is exhibited by people who seem to argue that any amount of waste and greed is OK as long as it is stamped with the imprimatur of “Public Education.”
Such people are simply unfit to criticize O’Connell. They are the “nutjobs” who accept any amount of greed and waste, as long as it greed and waste “for the children.”
Enlightened people know that it isn’t “for the children” at all, but for a protected class of people who do not deserve such protection from competition.
Take a step back from this for a moment, and witness that there are people arguing that the public should not be privy to the expenditure of public dollars.
These people are on the side of Enron, Fannie Mae, Oily Superintendents, and others who would strip you of your earnings to enrich themselves.
Scott O’Connell is trying to remove the money changers from the your temple of public education, and those that are trying to crucify him should be called to account for their views.
If you don’t like the imagery, you can bill me. The truth will set you free, but first it will make you very angry. It should. There is a great deal to be angry about, but Scott O’Connell is NOT one of them.
Scott is doing a great job and one we desperately need him to do. The school board is accountable to the citizens not the other way around!!!!!
An elected Official,
I believe a judge somewhat ruled in the position of what you said…”an elected official should not have to FOIA”…Why does he have to FOIA?? Hours and hours of paper work. Isn’t most this stuff on computer, can be scanned and email? that’s how I get invoices, diagrams and everything else. What’s going on at d58, that they can’t readily show a board member a bid or diagram without having to be FOIA’d?
Good point Dad. I’d like to give the Admin the benefit of the doubt and assume they would prefer to have relevant documents and information at the ready however given their track record I doubt they are able.
PD school has recently had an inability to update and access school/classroom websites because the woman in charge of tech at the district went on vacation for the first two weeks of school! As idiotic and arrogant as that may be it is compounded by the fact that NO ONE else at 58 is competent to substitute in her absence.
What if she leaves her job suddenly? It harkens back to the big oops in the budget last year. The responsible individual/scapegoat left her job afterwards and so the error was never really accounted or apologized for. This is one of many examples in which our district conducts business in an embarrassingly retro, antiquated fashion and there is no accountability.
So is this the “professional” manner in which the Acting Super allows our district to operate and therefore should be highly paid to perpetuate?!!!!!
I witnessed a small example of our school district at work this summer. One of our grade schools was finally getting the crumbling front steps replaced. A district employee was doing the job, he removed the old steps, put up framing for the new steps, had the concrete truck come, poured the new steps. A few days later there he was jackhammering out the steps again, because he had done them incorrectly. Once again we repeated the entire process, more digging more framing, more concrete pouring. The steps are done, not correctly, no way would they pass a code inspection, but there done. This man and a couple of college boys were paid by the hour. This was a simple project and was totally screwed up. That is our school district at work.
He asks for little teeny tiny miniscule details that no one CARES about except him and they are not needed to DO his elected job!
Debbie, someone needs to check the small details.
You say tomato I say tomahto.. I say Scott O’Connell likes to stir the pot and no one can change my mind on that.
WHY does he need specs for Herrick’s gym floor? I have to say this conversation is very tireseome… there are many many qualified people around town who CARE about kids and education AND know how to count/add/read, etc. who know how to play nice in the sandbox. You don’t have to be an accountant to be on the school board….. you just have to be willing to put in the time and not waste taxpayers time and money and resources. School Board meetings used to be 1 – 1 1/2 hrs and now they are like 3 – because he says why did we use black ink? Why don’t we use double sided tape? Why is the gym floor green and not blue
COME ON!
EJ I am for anyone who can step up to the plate, play nice in the sandbox and do the job without stepping all over everyone like a bull in a china shop – hope this helps!
I will not be coming back to this thread again….
That is one pot that needed stirring!
“play nice in the sandbox and do the job without stepping all over everyone”….It would appear these type of board members cost tax payers too much money and lose the confidence of the residents. It would appear everyone who voted for the failed tax increase fits that criteria. I am voting for Change!
Debbie,
Unfortunately the people who care about kids only include Scott O’connell on the school board. The rest of the board could care less about our children
“Concerned about the kids” That is the oldest trick in the book to force tax increases on the public. The district has plenty of money. The public needs to get out from behind the “concerned about the kids” smoke screen to see what the board is actually spending thier tax dollars on.
CT: You’re at it again. I am acquainted with most school board members and, while we have our differences on certain issues, I am quite sure they care a great deal about our kids.
Debbie,
The “small details” are where all the bodies are buried.
Whether you want to avoid the truth or not, every school district is like FNMA or Freddie Mac. They putatively supply us with a “mortgage market.”
In fact, they give each of us a 7 basis point break (thats 7/100ths of a percent) on our mortgages, while laundering huge sums of money to politicians, NGOs, and nefarious “housing organizations.”
That is what a school district does with your tax dollar. If you want to pretend that the $$ is going into connecting neurons in your kid’s head, then it is your CHILDREN you are hurting.
We need to de-institutionalize “education” and have money follow the child.
Board members who look at the details expose the entire system as a playground for adults to push money around. Roofing contracts, Sops to teachers Unions, insurance deals, and a steady flow of cash to PMA Financial have NOTHING to do with Educating your child.
Confront that truth, or ignore the thread, but no one should be let off the hook from knowing what is going on.
To attack the O’Connells of the world is to argue for “willful ignorance.”
Bruno,
Well put.
We have too many liberal minded people running the school system. This thought process has just led to over spending and over thinking a very simple task. Teaching the children. That is the basic function of a school system. I realize that funding for capitol projects is very important but you still need to work with in your budget and stick to being fiscally responsible.
Board member Popernik stated today in the Reporter that the board generally works with in a balanced budget and has a surplus, but that this year there are some projects that created a shortfall. My concern is that if we have a shortfall of some $300k why not look for ways to cut spending out of the budget and keep it balanced? We all want what is best for our children. My question to the board is what projects could we have put off until next year to keep the budget balanced? If any board member has the courage to offer an answer in this forum that would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Correction, Chad: Popernik is district’s interim business manager, not a board member.
“We need to de-institutionalize ‘education’ and have money follow the child.”
Bruno, have you determined how much money should follow the child and whether the same amount should follow the child regardless of grade level, residence, or ability (e.g., “special needs”)?
For that matter, have you had time to consider any of the questions I earlier posed at http://www.dgreport.com/index.php/2008/03/06/cash-for-kids/#comment-5310?
I know you earlier said the exact level is irrelevant, but without some idea of the savings your system would realize, I fear you might appear to be an out-of-town blowhard who sent his own kid to the local public school while lecturing us about our foolishness in doing the same . . .
URL above should be http://www.dgreport.com/index.php/2008/03/06/cash-for-kids/#comment-5310 (no question mark)
EJ,
I saw the error after I posted it. Thanks for the correction. Can you change it for me to read Controller or strike the word out?
The paraphrasing of his quote in the Reporter was merely to illustrate my point anyway. Thanks again.
Chad, the problem is that for many years paltry amounts were devoted for capital expenses to maintain property in D58, e.g. roof replacements.
Available revenue was used almost entirely for ongoing expenses with little provision for anything else. This provided the appearance of balanced budgets. But in an economic sense the budget wasn’t really balanced because the deferral of current capital needs and funding future ones simply pushed the expenses onto the next guy in line which is where we are today.
I agree with you that more head scratching needs to be done to look very hard at all expenses rather than assume a tax hit is the answer. Nonetheless this constant deferral of long term needs is the root of the squeeze because all of the other $$ have already been committed.
Sadly we see this every day at every level of government. Anyone who tries to fix it gets tagged as the bad guy. In our own village we now see the costs of deferred expenses on stormwater fixes. At the state level, IL has the most underfunded state pension plan in the nation. Last time I checked it was $41 Billion in the hole.
DG_DA,
That is why I asked for more info. Thanks for the insight. Just for the record, I am not calling any board member the bad guy.
Still, a shortfall of only $300k is peanuts considering the $60 million in the approved budget.
My other concern is the cost of the roofs. Why are we paying $1million per roof? I could roof well over 100 decent sized single family roofs for that cost. Is that really the cost of these roofs? Can someone tell me if we bid these jobs out or were they just no-bid deals? Just curious and starting the conversation. Thanks.
Has anyone ever worked for a company where new management takes over and all of a sudden the employees are asked to do more, take on more and over all work more. The reaction of the employees is usually an uproar of how can we do all this work, management is asking to much. When the reality is they can handle the new work, they have just been operating at a comfortable level all these years and now someone is upsetting their applecart with extra work. Is it possible that the district employees are reacting this way, is it possible that it is really not that hard to pull the info that he is asking for its just the the staff is balking at having to do it and blowing it a bit out of proportion?
Repeating myself….but concerning FOIAs and all D58 and D99 information, shouldn’t/couldn’t all public data not pertaining to specific students be accessible through the two websites for ALL taxpayers at ALL times?
Whatever ‘cost’ is spent on retroactively fulfilling FOIA requests should be preemptively placed into uploading all ‘free information’ on an ongoing basis.
An IT person interested in running for either school board could probably make a good platform case largely due to improving transparency through technology. Unfortunately, I’m not that sheep!
Trish,
Good point. People all over the working world are asked to do more with less. People all over the working world are asked to work longer hours for the same pay. Why should the school district be any different.
Sheap,
I agree with you that we should have access to more information with out having to FOIA everything. If someone with the district is willing to let us know that this info is readily available please correct us. Thanks.
Oh I forgot one other thing.
Gov. Palin in her role as the states highest executive put the states government check book on line for all Alaskans to see what the state was spending its tax dollars on. Seems to me this should be a standard practice for ALL government and quasi governmental agencies.
Sheep:
Love the idea of having all that information at our fingertips. Sure would save me some time! The village does a good job of this, as does the park district. D58 board member Tom Cunningham also did a fine job of this; when he was running for re-election everything from the district budget to the teachers’ contract were on his campaign website. It would seem he could ask the district to do the same.