you said,<br><pre><tt><tt>"The real issues for me in all of this are integrity and by extension, <br>accountability. Some questions beg to be addressed, including (1) <br>can the taxpayers, patrons and other constituents trust the actions <br>of the MSD leadership?; (2) is it wise for governmental entities to <br>have "permanent" taxes, not requiring persistent periodic taxpayer <br>review? (3) is it wise for governments to rely on "permanent levies" <br>that can only be extended by support of a new "permanent levy"?"<br><br>While those are real issues, this levy was voted on and passed. <br>Now the issue is WHEN can the school district collect the funds from<br>THIS levy that passed. I agree that we should be able to move on to<br>the next levy that will come soon enough. We could do that if <br>Dr. Weitz would just drop this suit. Because now it isn't about an<br>"illegal" or faulty language in a levy. -Tom<br></tt></tt></pre><br><b><i>Jeff Harkins
<jeffh@moscow.com></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> Facts - let's work from facts.<br><br> From some online research, here are some of the activities that <br>substantiate Dr. Weitz's efforts on behalf of the Moscow School <br>District and public education:<br><br>>(1) Chair and founder of Moscow Rotary Youth Exchange (18 years).<br>><br>>2) Chair Education Committee Moscow Chamber of Commerce <br>>(1993-1997). Received member of the year award from the Chamber <br>>(1995), Awarded Spirit of the Chamber (1996). Committe appears to <br>>have sponsored numerous focus groups and town hall meetings <br>>concerning school-to-work issues.<br>><br>>3) Awarded Parent of the Year Moscow High School 1995<br>><br>>4) Chair MHS Parent Advisory Committee (1993-95)<br>><br>>5) Chair Palouse Partnership Council (School-to-Work)<br>><br>>6)
Co-Chair School-to-Work Region II, which partnered with <br>>Albertson's Foundation, UI College of Education and the federal <br>>School to work folks which brought into the district about $200,000 <br>>worth of grants for the management of change.<br>><br>>7) Member Moscow School Board 1997-2000<br>><br>>8) Worked with the National Guard, Congress and State Officials to <br>>acquire a "free Skills center" - apparently not yet a reality.<br>><br>>8)Airconditioned: Russell and MacDonald<br>><br>>9) Provided the building, remodeled to the District's specs. and <br>>provided infrastructure, (desks, chairs, computers, lockers, <br>>furnishings, telephone system etc.) for alternative HS.<br>><br>>10) Offered to acquire Tidyman's for conversion to a skills center, <br>>went through architectural concept drawings.<br><br>I am sure there are more activities, but this is what I have been <br>able to document thus far. If any of
the above are incorrect, please <br>advise and I will edit as needed. I think these "facts" speak for <br>themselves - Dr. Weitz has been a committed advocate for k-12 education.<br><br>It's interesting that Ms. Hovey chose to bring up the Billy Bob Teeth <br>project. As I recall, the MSD teacher's union originally agreed to <br>participate in that project and later withdrew its support citing <br>"too busy" to help with that. Perhaps Ms. Hovey can bring forward <br>some numbers to substantiate MSD personnel involvement in that activity.<br><br>The facts are that Dr. Weitz has been a solid advocate for MSD and <br>k-12 education. The evidence suggests that Dr. Weitz is keenly <br>interested in education and in particular, vo-tech education - and he <br>has backed up his interest with effort and investment. Frankly, his <br>decision to challenge the permanent levy seems to have legal <br>foundation and while there are some that question his decision to <br>pursue that
course of action, it appears it was a valid <br>action. While there appears to be a link between the legal action <br>and vo-tech education (Dr. Weitz has indicated that he would be <br>"pleased to see" additional investment of some of the levy proceeds <br>invested in Vo-tech) there is no requirement that these activities be <br>linked at all. Frankly, if the district did not comply with the <br>"rules" for the levy, then the fault lies with the district, not with <br>the actions of the citizen who initiated the challenge. It is in our <br>long-term best interests as taxpayers and citizens and in the <br>long-term best interests of governmental entities if governments and <br>citizens follow the rules.<br><br>Some want to advance the "tyranny of the majority" argument to <br>discredit Dr. Weitz's tactics; thankfully, even in our neck of the <br>woods, a minority position is allowed.<br><br>The real issues for me in all of this are integrity and by extension,
<br>accountability. Some questions beg to be addressed, including (1) <br>can the taxpayers, patrons and other constituents trust the actions <br>of the MSD leadership?; (2) is it wise for governmental entities to <br>have "permanent" taxes, not requiring persistent periodic taxpayer <br>review? (3) is it wise for governments to rely on "permanent levies" <br>that can only be extended by support of a new "permanent levy"? and <br>(4) is it appropriate public policy to provide one local government <br>with a permanent levy while the other local governments must compete <br>with each other for their "right" to fund their activities, is public <br>education more important than health and safety, than dealing with <br>our water problem?<br><br>To encourage a rich discussion of these and other important issues, I <br>will attempt to offer facts and dialogue on these issues in the <br>coming weeks. Hopefully many of you will join in the dialogue - <br>there are many questions
to be considered and a thorough examination <br>of the facts could lead to a better school district for us all - and <br>a more knowledgeable voter base.<br><br>Please! Let's stop the fingerpointing and name calling - it gets us <br>nowhere. Fact, there are a substantial number of folks in our area <br>that did not support the district's request for a permanent levy <br>increase. Now is the time to deal with that. The next levy is on <br>the horizon ...........<br><br><br>=======================================================<br> List services made available by First Step Internet, <br> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br> http://www.fsr.net <br> mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<br>=======================================================<br></blockquote><br><BR><BR>Tom & Liz Ivie<p> 
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