“It is, what it is.”

Today’s Trib story lays out a preliminary debate between the School District and the taxpayers.

According to the School Board’s pricey lawyer, Kevin Rupp, who’s firm I voted to hire years ago:

“The notable thing is that [the plaintiffs] have not alleged the school district violated any law,” lawyer Kevin Rupp said. “They have only alleged the school district violated a policy. You can’t sue for violation of a policy.”

Long before my time on the Board the School Board passed a policy requiring that all expenses anticipated to cost in excess of $25,000 be bid out because this would force vendors to offer the lowest prices. But the Red Plan’s construction was never bid out. It was simply handed over to Johnson Controls. Mr. Rupp explains that it was the result of a “proposal” not a “bid” and therefore exempt – all $300 million of it – from consideration as a bid. In other words, Shakespeare was wrong. A rose is not a rose if you call it something else. It could be a dandelion if that’s what your lawyers said it was.

If the District wins on the basis of semantics we taxpayers will have lost a chance to get a good deal on the Red Plan.

As for policy having no force of law that’s very interesting. I always knew School Board policy could not overrule state statutes but to learn that they are completely irrelevant tells me that the long winded debates about our policy at school board meetings were pointlessness. I especially remember debates over school board ethics. Apparently School Boards have no ethics.

Ironically, Chair Grover the Red Plan’s chief defender once prided himself on being an advocate for small government and low taxation. He used to grumble when we didn’t put out bids for spending under $25,000. He especially grumbled when the District’s facilities manager, Kerry Leider, brought us construction contracts to sign immediately at school board meetings because a one month delay might doom them because of our area’s short construction season.

Today Tim is backing the hideous $50 million Ordean construction two years early; with no bid; in opposition to the community’s wishes; on a contract that the School Board never even looked at when they voted to approve it. It was signed by then Chair Ann Wasson some time later and was undated!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t believe me…..read the taxpayer’s brief.

When Gary Glass, who had ferreted the mysterious document out of the hands of the Business Office, showed the Johnson Control’s contract to Tim for the very first time and asked him about these strange circumstances Tim replied cryptically: “It is what it is.”

For a guy who thought Bill Clinton was a sleazebag that’s a rather surprising thing to have said . . . depending on your definition of terms, that is!

I also spent some time reading the Interogatories I answered given me by Johnson Controls lawyers. I posted them on the Internet and they can still be found on the Internet.

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