Re “Being Creative About the School Board’s Move to City Hall”
At last night’s abbreviated meeting, the School Board, responding to a request from the City Council, agreed to dispatch a formal letter to City Hall outlining its desires for renting Council Chambers for its twice-monthly meetings.
It is expected to strike a conciliatory tone after Board member Karlo Silbiger’s latest petition before the Council the night before met with a measure of skepticism, resulting in the once cinch matter being tabled in a cloud of doubt. The Council said it preferred a professional, written-request approach from the School Board to the more casual verbal plea.
Board Vice President Scott Zeidman, in charge of the meeting in the absence of President Steve Gourley, described the anticipated succinct epistle:
“The letter will say something like, ‘We are interested in using your facility. We certainly want it on the fourth Tuesday of every month. We would love to have it the second Tuesday of the month as well, if there is a way to accommodate it. We will understand if there is not a way to accommodate it.
“ ‘If your commissions [who normally meet on the second Tuesday] desire to move, fantastic. We will jump in. If they don’t, we understand. They are first.’”
The annual rental fee for the Chambers, presumably in the $1,600 area, was a touchy subject in Monday night’s live debate between Mr. Silbiger and the City Council. However, the topic will not be addressed by the School Board until the frequency of usage is settled.
