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Key gives school board majority an 'F' on recent redistrictingThu, 07/03/2008 - 7:46am
By: Cal Beverly
Former teacher and Post 3 incumbent Marion Key gives a redistricting grade of “F” to the majority on the Fayette County Board of Education. As one of the two candidates responding to The Citizen’s pre-primary questions, Key portrayed herself as often a lone voice against budgetary excesses. “We have more space system-wide than we need, yet after redistricting, we are still using trailers,” Key said in her responses in the political forum section of this website. “We are paying twice for utilities at schools with empty space and the trailers. “My position in the redistricting process was for all schools to have enough students to receive full state funding for their administrative overhead. The consultant and the committee had developed a plan to meet that criteria,” Key said. “The board chose to change the recommended boundaries over my objections. This is the reason we have trailers in some schools while other schools do not meet the state’s minimum enrollment requirements to receive full funding for administrative costs. This leaves Fayette County’s taxpayers to make up the shortfall,” Key said. Only two of the seven candidates for three school board seats responded to the forum questions. Those included Post 2 challenger Dr. Mary Kay Bacallao and Post 3 incumbent Marion Key. On the issue of potential future millage rate increases in a declining local economy, Key said she had been asking for an assessment of program costs and effectiveness for some time and would support requiring the superintendent to provide that data to the board prior to the next budget cycle. In her response, Bacallao said a millage rate increase would be an option of last resort, adding that budget areas that had become ineffective over the years should be identified and eliminated. Budget cuts should not adversely affect classroom instruction or infrastructure, she said. Both Bacallao and Key said they supported videotaping board meetings. Bacallao said the meeting room should be arranged so that the public can see a speaker’s interaction with the board, while Key said meeting minutes should be more detailed and should include the pros and cons of discussion items. Perhaps as important as any question posed on the forum was one asking if candidates could be trusted with money and children. Key said her guiding philosophy during more than 40 years in education has been the welfare of the county’s children, adding that she has been the lone voice on the board during some of the property purchases and school construction projects. Bacallao said she has managed more than $1 million in federal funds and that she was diligent in managing those funds, noting that her doctorate is in educational leadership. More important than money, she said, is the accountability of adults that work with children. Those not responding due to what they said were negative questions posed to candidates included Post 1 incumbent Janet Smola, Post 2 incumbent Terri Smith and Post 3 challengers Mark Aasen and Carol Jensen-Linton. login to post comments
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