Monday, April 10, 2006

Golden Watchdog or Golden Fleece?

I came upon an interesting item on the Internet.

CVESD was a finalist in 2003 for the San Diego County Taxpayers Association' Golden Watchdog Award!

Today I was told by the SDCTA that NO BUDGET WAS ATTACHED TO THE INFORMATION provided to the group of people who chose Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) as a finalist.

Hello, SDCTA? You didn't even look at the budget?

It's true that there is no mention in the SDCTA press release about building schools for a good price. The write-up simply states that the board got along well with its builders, and the original budget was adhered to. But still, why would SDCTA choose a public entity as a finalist for an award for handling taxpayer dollars, when it didn't even look at their budget?

I am concerned that the good relationship between the CVESD board and certain developers is circumventing the democratic process. Developers donate to political campaigns of board members who then choose developers to receive millions of tax dollars. And then the budget is kept secret.

Unlike CVESD, San Diego Unified School District has information available on the Internet regarding exactly which lawyers were paid taxpayer dollars, and exactly how much they were paid.

Perhaps SDUSD deserves a Golden Watchdog Award.

Anyone can nominate a public entity for a Golden Watchdog or Golden Fleece Award. I think I'll nominate CVESD for a Golden Fleece Award. Any bets on whether my nominee will be chosen as a Golden Fleece finalist?

No comments: