THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605040098
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 25 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
SOURCE: BY GEORGE HAMAR
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Beware of teachers' union school board candidates
There is plenty of blame to go around regarding the past School Board deficits and questionable accounting maneuvering.
First, is an apathetic public which turns out for voting in a small 30 percent number. This allows, by default, a union, guised as a professional association, to, by leverage, control who gets elected to our School Board. While supposedly formed to protect teachers and carry out collective bargaining, and other benefits, this union has undermined the taxpayer, regarding as to how our kids should be taught, and how our tax dollar should be allocated.
Remember, this union was responsible for ``foisting'' a board candidate on our school system claiming he had the highest degree awarded by a university, yet if they are the educational professionals, they claim to be, they should have well known that colleges (such as a mythical Harmony College) do not award the degree Charles Vincent claimed to have earned. Secondly, this claimed professional group spent large sums of union funds to elect a six members slate. Half the current School Board was ``hand-picked'' by these professional educators.
The other half of the current School Board was ``hand-picked'' by our City Council. This same council approved the school budget for 1994-95, which was a ``farce'' and helped create the $12 million deficit.
Furthermore, it is our City Council, which by law, is supposed to not only approve all school budgets, but is supposed to know what the council is actually approving. Representing the public the council is supposed to scrutinize where our dollars are spent, as well as whether the funding is in the best interest of the public. Keep in mind some of the budgets approved contained unrealistic projected revenues, which should have raised red flags, especially for those who boast how many years they have served on the council.
I assume this same City Council saw but ignored the red flag raised by an outside audit after the 1993-94 audit. While our City Council hastily retreats from a responsibility, claiming the council has no control over how the School Board spends funds, this is not entirely correct. By law, they assume the role of the taxpayer, such as in areas where a school board does raise taxes for school districts. I have seen taxpayers reject school board budgets many times in the past 50 years. Furthermore, these other school boards may not spend funds unless they are specifically budgeted and these boards may not, later, dip into the taxpayer pockets because of board members failure.
Ironically, the current School Board members, by their statements, clearly exhibit their lack of fitness, via their lack of understanding what are the responsibilities of a board member on a corporation board. They have failed to educate themselves as to the responsibility attached to their membership.
The ultimate responsibility rests solely with a corporate board, even though they misjudge and assign authority to a superintendent. Their public outcry shows they took on a role without knowing what that position called for. When they ran for elected positions they never pleaded they were lay-persons or novices, nor that they would merely turn their duties over, in blind trust, to subordinates.
I have watched both School Board meetings as well as City Council meetings since they have been available on TV. I concur with the grand jury. The tapes clearly show Dr. Faucette led them all through the hoops, like an experienced ringmaster. How can the current School Board members explain why they approved millions of dollars that were off-budget and never approved by the taxpayer representative, the City Council?
I raised five kids, constantly reminding them ``it is not a crime to not know how to do a job, but is a crime to pretend you know and never seek to learn.'' The board should quit dragging this fiasco out and further ruin the reputation of the school system. You are becoming an embarrassment to the community. by CNB