Woo Hoo! Surveys Hot Off the Press!

Who would’ve thought that a survey could cause so much controversy? To the nice lady in Silver Lake that is concerned I might cry foul if the results aren’t to my liking, fear not! I am not ashamed of myself and I hereby promise to accept results of said survey as they come in whether I like it or not. You see, my intent is not to verify any preconceptions. My intent is to find out what this district needs, wants, and is willing to pay for. I do not fear the results as some people seem to. I embrace the opportunity to make changes according to what the funders want. Now I’m not a member of the Gallop Poll board as the letter writer claims to be but I am a member of society. I have a stake in this district and a right to be heard.
Now let’s talk about the cost and my seemingly thrifty ways. I’m not against spending money. We obviously have to spend money to operate. But there is spending and there is waste. Money spent on a survey that can garner input better than any committee or public forum ever could is money well spent. Money spent on consultants to reorganize administrative offices is waste. If you don’t like where you sit, drag your desk down the hall. I guarantee this survey costs less than the money the district has paid to the “Plan for Excellence” facilitator.
I wasn’t going to brag about this but under the circumstances I feel I must do something to justify my asking for more money for this survey. I recently placed three district surplus items on E-bay. I put together the ads and listed them out of the kindness of my heart and brought in over $18,000.00. Not bad for a couple hours work. I think this amount more than covers the added cost of the surveys.
I must tell you the hell I was put through to get a letter to the editor put in the Falls News. Let me explain something to you. Therese Dunphy sent a letter to the Falls News stating that the district had decreased expenditures by 12.2 million dollars from fiscal years 05 to 06. What she failed to mention was from FY 04 to 05 there was an unusual one time increase of expenditures of over 12 million dollars. There was never a decrease in expenditures. There was an increase in expenditures in 05, then back to normal spending levels in 06. Funny thing is, everyone involved was real reluctant to set the record straight. It has taken almost a month to get my letter printed. Why would a paper print something so misleading and then make me present exhibits with witnesses to state the facts? It’s as if they didn’t care that people were fed a line of crap from an elected official.