The warrant was briefly mentioned at the school board meeting
last night. (The warrant is the list of items that goes before the voters at the Deliberative session and what we eventually vote on in March.) A copy of the proposed warrant was distributed to the school board members and a quick
overview was provided.
The first article on the warrant is a bond. No explanation was given and no discussion took place. Though this was the first mention of a bond that I can recall, not one school board member looked surprised and not one question was asked. When
the board was asked during public comment for clarification and
explanation, the chair replied that the discussion at the workshop on January 8th would focus on the warrant.
Here's what is concerning.
I'm shocked at the idea of the school board proposing a bond at the 11th hour – the Deliberative session is in just 6 weeks – with no explanation.
There
are many questions that need to be asked now. A bond for what? Is there
a proposal? If so, who has been working on this? Why hasn't the
community been engaged? What about the JAC? Does the Superintendent
really think that he would be able to rally enough support and provide
enough information to the community to pass a bond at this late date?
The
superintendent and the school board clearly have a lot of work to do --
not just to put the warrant together, but to engage and inform the
community. And they need to do it now.
