The chairman of the El Paso Independent School District 2007 Bond Accountability Advisory Committee recently wrote a guest column for the El Paso Times. You can read it here.
The chairman tried to explain why his committee recommended taking $57 million that was allocated to a new high school in the northeast and spending it on other things.
The district’s voters approved a $230 million dollar program that was to fund specific projects. This is the district’s list of those projects.
The chairman evidently feels that the voters gave the district $230 million to spend as they please. We did not. We gave the district permission to spend the money on specific projects.
As an example, if the proposed project list had included $100 million to build a private country club for the school board the bond issue probably would not have passed.
Forgetting his place
The bond committee has a charter. This is part of the charter:
The Committee is also charged with oversight of the 2007 Bond budget in order to assure that bond proceeds are expended in a manner consistent with the budget.
The charter does not say that they are charged with oversight of the bond budget as amended by the school board with whatever changes they decide that they want.
Violated
Many of us voters were made more comfortable with the bond issue since a committee of taxpayers would see to it that the school district spent the money they way it was sold to us.
Now it turns out that the oversight committee has as little respect for the voters as the politicians do.
How can we trust the bond process?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Is this perhaps an investment in Dee Margo’s future political campaign? You know, make nice with voters in your district by handing them some great goodies…
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