The past five years have seen disastrous budget cuts Karlo Silbiger advised during The League of Woman’s Voter/PTA Council candidate forum Thursday evening October 3. So why then did he, Nancy and Patricia vote to spend $28,000 to an outside consulting firm to investigate placing a bond measure on our November ballot then do nothing to track, monitor, direct, report on those efforts until the fateful night the plug was pulled on placing a bond measure on the ballot and then did nothing until decisions were forestalled?
Bonds are good for major capitol projects, parcel taxes are good for on-going expenses and a balance of the two needs to be considered Karlo referenced in response to a question at the forum. The district Community Budget Advisory Committee, of which I was chairperson, is on record for the last two years advising to renew Measure EE, the parcel tax. Yet when Karlo voted to spend the $28,000 no reference did he make to a parcel tax to be investigated in the study.
$28,000 could pay for a part-time librarian or nurse or teachers aid to a classroom. All positions lost during the state budget crunch and not yet brought back. $28,000 that could be used to fix some drinking fountains or other ongoing maintenance issue Karlo and Nancy claim to champion. So the question one has to ask, what other monies has Karlo squandered in his past four years. Matching funds for solar from the state? Contracts approved and not monitored? We know that $28,000 went down a rabbit hole, but how much more? Past behavior is an indicator of future behavior, we need school board members who will watch our dollars go to the students not down a hole.
Alan Elmont
I voted for Alan Elmont last election because I believed that he would be a good school board candidate.
This election, I have been appalled at the tone of his posts, especially those in CC Crossroads. I assume that there is a history between Mr. Elmont and Karlo Silbiger, or perhaps between Mr. Elmont and the CC Democratic Club/machine that is the fuel behind the vitriol that Mr. Elmont has displayed towards Karlo. This post takes a disagreement over the bond issue and tries to imply that there are darker, more dastardly deeds that we don’t know about. That is the kind of dirty politicking that there was a post against in CC Crossroads just last week.
Personally, I am getting the point where I am considering voting against those who are allowing Mr. Elmont to speak for them because I find him so divisive, and I do not want a divisive or divided school board.
Ms. Ferriera
Would you also consider the Democratic Club divisive since you have to be a democrat to be invited to their endorsement interviews?
Dear Christine Ferreira,
Thank you for voting for me in the past. I write as a private observer. No one is allowing me nor able to discourage me from voicing what too often goes unsaid. I hold no crudge nor is there “history” between Karlo Silbiger and I (although there might be hard feelings towards me now). I am not divisive, but an observer of our school board for over 20 years during which time I have more often spoke my mind at board meetings. Alas, few were ever present and if the room were packed, they were mostly parents many of whom unfortunately do not historically vote in school board elections.
Since I have no personal stake in any candidate, I am not nor do I in the future intend to seek office, I have no hesitation to speak my mind and share my observations. In private, I have received only thanks for saying the “unsaid”. In these posts, only a few have made the suggestion that stating the obvious is “divisive”.
But….not being a man of strong opinion…or many… 🙂