School District Meeting thoughts - #2
From the Laconia Daily Sun, 2/2/07, the article dealing with the SAU Deliberative Session;
Thomlinson pointed out that once the bottom line budget figure is adopted, the School Board has the authority to transfer funds between accounts and if the appropriations are not restored, could chose to fund both the health insurance and football program, assuming the money is available. He said that this was among the reasons that the board resisted proposing a separate warrant article to fund the football program, explaining that if the article failed, the program could not be funded by transferring funds.
Perhaps I see this a bit too cynically, or perhaps not cynically enough. Essentially, as the School Board Chair, Derek Thomlinson has basically stated that no matter what the BudComm did, not matter what happened at the SAU Deliberative Session, and no matter what happens at the March vote, the School Board will do what it wants to do.
Does anyone else see this? And noticed that no one else has commented on it?
We have heard from Phil Arel at both Deliberative Sessions that the BudComm is "out of touch". Yet, doesn't anyone else see the dichotomy with what the BudComm is being accused of, and what the School Board has said it WILL do?
The voters at the Deliberative Session overrode the BudComm. That is what voting is all about, and the SB2 process worked. According to the RSA, the BudComm could change its recommendation as the budget amount had been changed. We therefore changed our recommendation.
However, the most important thing is what the majority of ALL of the voters think come March 13.
Yet, Mr. Thomlinson has effectively stated that it didn't matter what the BudComm did, it wouldn't have mattered if the monies hadn't been put back in during the Deliberative Session, nor what the voters do in March.
In essence, if I read the paper correctly, the School Board will do what it wants. Period.
Thus, even if the voters vote down the amended budget in March, do you think the School Board will listen to the voters?
If not, will Mr. Arel state that it is really the School Board is out of touch with the voters?
