Fifth in a series
Re “UPCC’s Disappointment When Bond Momentum Was Derailed”
[img]1994|right|Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin||no_popup[/img]Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin was one of the most disappointed parents in Culver City last July 1 when the School Board suddenly stamped the bond measure campaign “Delayed Indefinitely” due to insufficient evidence.
“I was so excited going into the Board meeting that night,” said the president of the parents union, United Parents of Culver City.
“I thought the bond measure was a great idea,” and her face turned into one giant klieg light. “I was so excited, and I was even more encouraged after I saw (the overwhelming) survey results of the community. Being in the School District as a parent for nine years, I know what the facilities are like.
“I was extremely anxious to get going. I was ready to get parents out and motivated to get the bond passed.”
You may remember from the last installment, Ms. Wisnosky Stehlin left the Board meeting early to return to work that fateful Monday evening after the bond consultants delivered upbeat reports about the measure’s passage chances.
“When I stood up,” she recalled, “somebody asked me, ‘Why are you leaving? The fun is about to begin.’”
The well-placed person who made the statement remains imprinted on the mind of the UPCC president.
Ms. Wisnosky Stehlin did not have time to pause, and blithely she left the School District quarters.
“Later I got an email saying that the bond had been shelved,” and her face darkened.
[img]2189|left|Scott Kecken||no_popup[/img]Her seatmate at the Lyfe restaurant, Scott Kecken, chair of the UPCC’s political action committee, spoke up. “I have talked to a lot of parents who still don’t know it has happened,” he said. “They’re busy. They have jobs. That is why.
“This is another reason UPCC was formed (last year), to be a collective voice, and to communicate what is happening to parents we see every day at school so they know.
“We are trying to tell people that all of us know the (physical) state of the schools. We are there every day to see it.
“We tried to make this happen. We thought it was going to happen. We are partners in it all the way. And it…whatever…goes away.
“’Why’ is a big question,” said Mr. Kecken.
(To be continued)
