[img]1789|right|Karlo Silbiger||no_popup[/img]We need to alter our thinking about the timing of this school bond election.
Some in the community have suggested that having it on this November's election is of paramount importance, that without it being on the ballot in November, it won't pass.
I do not believe that we should schedule something of this significance based on a calendar date.
Instead, scheduling should be based on when we, as a School Board and we as a community, have done the work necessary to spend the taxpayers' money effectively.
In an article for School Political Services and School Bond News (http://www.cashnet.org/resource-center/resourcefiles/33.htm), Jeremy Thorn provides great advice that our District should adopt:
• Do not put the bond measure on the ballot without “adequate preparation.”
• “Begin a plan with a facilities and financial assessment of the district.”
• Do not rush decisions, but instead build relationships with stakeholders.
Those who know about bonds and bond elections are telling us that we don't organize a bond around a specific election date.
Instead, we determine an election date once we have done the due diligence necessary to spend the public's money responsibly.
The bond will not be on the ballot this November. However, it will be on the ballot as soon as our School District has completed the steps necessary for us to put it on, hopefully in the very near future.
Mr. Silbiger, a member of the School Board running for re-election, may be contacted at ksilbiger@juno.com
