What Is the Cause?
Mr. Rose recited a long list of names of recent and distant School Board members he has met with, and I never heard anything about tension from any of them. I know the perception exists, and, as I said, I dont know why. But maybe some people are trying to create one single government entity to cover the city, the schools and the Redevelopment Agency. I think that could be the agenda of some people, he said without citing them by name. A natural bonding between City Hall and the School Board back in the 1980s, Mr. Rose noted, when the city began making one large grant of funding that now surpasses $1 million. It started, he said, because as the Redevelopment Agency redeveloped the community, the schools lost out on revenue from property taxes. This (grant) was intended to make the schools whole. One of the political imperfections with this grant covering a little more than 2 percent of the School Districts budget is that it is not seen as one peer funding another. Another sore spot that arises during the first month of school each September is a public meeting between the School Board and the City Council. Some City Council members in the past have regarded it as a ceremonial annoyance. Conversely, some School Board members see it as a publicly affirming equalizer of prestige. There have, however, been disagreements over whose seating arrangements are, literally, higher or lower. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss common issues, Mr. Rose said. One subject could be policing. Another could be additional funding or enhanced services supplied by the city. not a banner headline topic among them. Since neither the School Board or City Council would be noticeably affected if we did not meet and I dont know if we will this year that tells me things are going well, Mr. Rose said.
