Friday, March 13, 2009

Difficult to watch

More information from David Weeks in this morning's article from the Athens Banner-Herald, and he's accusing Rep. Bob Smith of throwing the Oconee County Board of Education under the bus. While I'm shocked - shocked I tell you - that Smith would think of his own interests over the well-being of his constituents, he's actually right in this case.

Weeks wanted to do this thing without a public hearing ... and got killed for that. Weeks wanted to raise the pay for board members more than five times their current amount ... and got killed for that. Weeks wanted to do so in the middle of a recession where paraprofessionals are being cut and part-time positions eliminated in the school system ... and got killed for that.

Coming off the heels of the fiasco regarding the previous superintendent and the whole sordid Brian Dickens affair, the Oconee County BOE is becoming almost as much of a train wreck to watch as Clarke County's.

Related ... this is what the ABH editorial board wants to write about? This is the pay raise discussion they wish to start? Not the one that, you know, actually impacts the local community. I'm not sure who called the shots on this one, but coupled with the awful 'Rep. Paul Broun's nonsensical tax break idea is cool' editorial that got penned a few weeks back, I'm starting to cast some doubts on the material selection.

(As an aside, it's silly to talk about congressional approval ratings apart from the fact that they're traditionally between 35 and 50 percent, are at the highest level in roughly a decade and the public's support is for Democrats, not Republicans.)

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