[img]1307|right|Meghan Sahli-Wells||no_popup[/img]In the first sad moments after School Board member Karlo Silbiger’s Tuesday night defeat became certain, Vice Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells underscored her reaction by saying twice, “I am surprised. I am surprised.
“Karlo’s record on the Board has been amazing.”
Reaching to articulate her feelings, she said that “what is shocking to me is that Karlo is incredibly intelligent,” and then she dived into the bond measure controversy.
Essentially by himself, Mr. Silbiger abruptly stopped the bond measure campaign in mid-flight last July 1, arguing effectively that the community and Board members had not been sufficiently informed yet to risk placing it on a ballot four months later.
“People had kind of a knee-jerk reaction to the bond,” Ms. Sahli-Wells said. “They said ‘if you don’t support the bond, you don’t support the schools, which is absolutely untrue.
“What Karlo is after is a successful bond, not just a bond at any cost. Had the bond been on the November ballot, I don’t think it would have passed.
“Last summer, a lot more research needed to be done. It is being done now. But it was not ready last summer.
“People like using messages (that the bond should have been on the ballot),” said the vice mayor. “Unfortunately, they don’t take the time to really look into all the issues.”
