Pics from Inside the Press Box

[squaw]

Sign me up!!!

Hooray!! OK, board members, you just read it, too! IndianFan and Justafan (my favorite poster just said they each will send the district $875.00 apiece to "sponsor" a chair. I will pay for the plastic tags on each chair with their names on them. Send them a bill! :crazy:

 

[IndianFan]

Now 14 years later, how are those controversial chairs holding up.

 

[Torino]

What different taxes? Still our money...or are strangers going to pay our bond off for us? What do you mean different taxes....educate me, please. If we don't use the whole amount, we can give it back, this reduces the amount that has to be paid back. This is why the expenditures are causing a stink..that and the fact that teachers, aides and staff may lose their jobs, do you not understand that as many as 50 teachers may not have a job next year? That was the first number that has been thrown out - may not end up being that many, but there will be lost jobs unless by some miracle this issue is resolved. There are things that can be done to reduce the number of jobs lost. I want you to understand that I know the difference between what bond money can and cannot be used for. Items that were set forth in the bond, per campus are what these funds can be used for. I get it. If we don't use all of these funds, we can return the unused portion, thus reducing our debt. Now, I also want you to understand that I realize that the deficit budget was not caused by the bond. Alot of it has to do with the revenue in the form of taxes that we were to receive from the refineries, but due to the reduction that the refineries filed for, our revenue has been reduced, yet we continued to spend like there was no tomorrow even though we have known for 2 yrs that this was probably coming. Also, we had some lost revenue from investment income, not with in our control, this is an economy issue. But the bond and the deficit do go hand in hand because above all else that bond has to be re-paid and everything else be damned...

So you tell me where these other tax monies are coming from and that all our teachers jobs are safe and I will drop the subject...

The threated employee layoffs did nt occur.

 

[Torino]

Your right, the board was surprised by this and actually held a special meeting last Wednesday to discuss it. There were 16 chairs purchased at around $875 and somewhere around 50 purchased at $475 among other crazy expenses. This was done through the administration without the board knowing about it. It just happened to be mentioned at the previous board meeting. I am glad to see that the board was addressing the purchasing practices by the administration

Maybe it does, who knows. Perhaps we could reconstruct the old restrooms for the complainers to use. Everyone knew how much would be spent on the stadium before the bond passed.

Yep.

 

[Torino]

Pretty stupid if you ask me. No wonder we have a deficit budget again this year. I realize that this was bond money and doesn't come out of the general fund but it is still stupid. If this is any indication of our normal purchasing procedures, we will be bankrupt before we know it. They could have gotten nice recliners for the price of those chairs. Did we really need "Lifetime Warranties" since they are only used a few hours a week during home games? My office chair cost $140 and I use it 8 hours a day 5 days a week and it has lasted for years.

Actually, the duget deficit didn't occur.

 

[Torino]

A lot of falsehoods and bitching from folks who joined the message board a year or 2 after the bond passed 65-35%. Purpose was to spread a false narrative of overall mismanagement of the ISD and facilitate a takeover of the school board. It worked. 5 of the 7 board members at the time of the election, and the widow of another, were eventually efeated for reelection. The bond construction and improvements were made under budget even though hampered by material and labor cost increases facilitated by 2 hurricanes and the Motiva expansion.

 

[IndianFan]

This topic is now 14+ years old but as a general response, and not meant to stir up controversy. We've got 2023 playoff football to focus on instead of negativity or an unfortunate past history.

I have seen multiple examples of dishonest people competing for school trustee positions in multiple districts over the years. I am not labeling everyone that runs or are elected to school boards as dishonest. Not the case at all as many outstanding public servants have helped build up those districts. But falsehoods (lies), unethical tactics (stretching the rules to the point of putting employee jobs at risk), and other hijinks are common in elections. Especially against more qualified incumbents. Sometimes a change is beneficial. But many times it's the case that some people will do and say anything to gain the perceived prestige that a public office holds. Unfortunately that causes some distrust of all.