Election Section

Unfortunately, the only thing that can be said for the school district in how it goes about wasting our tax monies in doing construction is that it does not learn from past mistakes. 

While in the city, six-figure salaries are justified because they pay for highly qualified staff, with the school district, six-figure salaries continually pay for poorly educated and incompetent staff. BUSD continually hires and promotes people who do not have the ability to do a good job. BUSD hired a food services manager, who was only a high school graduate, and had never run a food services department. She lost over $3 million dollars before she “voluntarily” left to run a prison cafeteria. The manner in which construction in this district is mismanaged is another case in point 

One year ago, BUSD began a landscaping project at Willard Middle School, projected to take two months. Fourteen months later, they’re still constructing. Anyone in construction knows that there is an appropriate sequence of steps. First, you build your all hardscape, and then you put in your plants and other softscape. But not BUSD. First, they trenched the asphalt and installed irrigation pipes. Then they patched up the asphalt, laid pavers and sod and plants. Now, they are tearing up the asphalt, and putting in a fence. Why wasn’t this coordinated? Why pay for trenching and patching? Why put in grass which is now being trampled, and irrigation boxes, which are now being cracked? Despite the fact that knowledgeable folks pleaded with BUSD, BUSD insisted on installing sprinkler heads that are 12 inches above the ground, especially along busy Telegraph Avenue and a bus stop. No wonder, the sprinkler heads are continually being broken and vandalized. The BUSD staff manager said, it’s no big deal. Hey, a $200 irrigation box here, a thousand dollars there. After all, BUSD has had $275 million of our money to burn. 

Several years ago, against the recommendation from the Maintenance Advisory Committee, BUSD installed wood parquet floors at Cragmont Elementary School in the lunchroom. Lunchroom floors need to be mopped daily. Wood and water, especially in a highly used area are not good partners. Three years later, that floor had to be removed and replaced. 

Yet, BUSD continually cries poor and asks for tax increases, it is also installing a new fence at Willard that is costing a mint—with over a dozen brick pillars and a custom wrought iron. Why? There isn’t enough money to retrofit some classrooms, or to meet all the teachers’ requests for inside the classroom, but we’re building brick-pillared custom wrought iron fences and gates? Aesthetically attractive material can be inexpensive and sturdy. Just look at Koolhaus’ fabulous public library in Seattle, made out of industrial materials. 

A week or two ago, an opinion in this paper excorciated the school district for waste. What will it take for the school district to pay attention? In November 2006, BUSD will be asking us again for more money. Maybe it is time to turn off the funding spigot and insist on performance audits. 

Yolanda Huang is chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission.›