The name of
the school will be North Fayette Valley. They couldn’t wait to start using the
new name. If this really was just about using Whole Grade Sharing for a couple
of years to get us over a budget crisis, then they wouldn’t change the name,
would they? Tim Orr had a good idea on the phone, but KinDee didn’t hear him
bring it up at the meeting. Tim suggested to me that Valley ought to keep its
name, colors, and mascot and North could do the same. But, this isn’t just
about getting us over a budget crisis, is it? It’s about eventual
consolidation. Whole Grade Sharing is meant to get people used to the idea of
sharing and its purpose is to ease the process of consolidation. We’re back at
the boiling the frog scenario. This is why they are so hell bent for leather
about getting this new name out there and using it. This is why they keep
telling us that we need to think like we’re one school. They’re like a bunch of
snake charmers. They’re trying to mesmerize us and get us to fall asleep so we
don’t complain while we watch our school dissolve.
They tried
to push through North Fayette colors. That’s one area that some of the board
members balked at. Funny how our board members are more worried about school
colors than they are about keeping our school. What the hell does it matter at
this point? We gave ourselves away to North Fayette. We’re the bride, they’re
the groom. We better get used to our new position. They’re bigger than us. They’re
higher in the food chain. We gleefully capitulated to them. How can we complain at this point? What the hell did our board expect? We're getting what we asked for whether those board members know it or not.
I know they
decided to have a meeting on the 19th with the North board members.
I haven’t heard what they decided on. Again, does it really matter? It’s not
going to be Valley red and blue, is it?
Yes, we have
some challenges ahead of us. There were a lot of people angry over this. Where
have they been lately? We won’t get our school back by staying silent. If
nobody is at those board meetings, they’ll keep on doing whatever they want to
without worry.
KinDee saw
the packet that the board members get. In it, Cathy Molumby lays out the agenda
for the night. In it, she makes her recommendations, for or against, and lays
out her arguments. You can tell by the tone of what she writes whether or not
she thinks something is a good thing or not. KinDee watched the board do
everything Cathy recommended, without a second thought. The only dissent came
from Tim Orr. We’re in deep trouble if we don’t change things.
It’s only
going to get worse. Cathy may be on her way out, but her contemporary is on his
way in. It’s not official, but they’re pushing very hard for North Fayette’s superintendent,
Duane Willhite, to become ours. The board wants to share him. Why would we think that another school district's superintendent would have our best interest at heart when it's in the best interest of that school to consolidate with us? If a superintendent has such pull, it would be in our best interest to hire one who is independent of this entire situation. Think of using a lawyer. Would you want to share the same lawyer with someone you are trying to hammer out an agreement with? You want one who will represent you and your best interests. We need the same here. Duane Willhite pushed for WGS and he knows it will lead to consolidation. Hiring him to represent us is like putting the fox in the henhouse.
I still
think this whole plan was hatched out by Duane and Cathy over a year ago. I
cannot prove it, but the process had to start somewhere. Somebody had to come up with the initial idea to pursue this. Nobody seems to want to take credit for it though. I guess we're all supposed to believe that it just came out of thin air. Everything is just too “convenient”
in how it all played out. To tell you the truth, if North Fayette hadn’t lost
their junior high building next to the courthouse, I don’t think we’d be in
this mess. North needed us far more than they are letting on. They needed our
building. The students are a plus, and the best part is this – once consolidation
comes – their tax base becomes one of the largest in this part of the state.
Think of all the land they will be able to tax! This new district will be huge!
It’ll be bigger than New Hampton’s! Yes, this whole thing is very insidious.
No, Duane
Willhite certainly is not in the best interest of Valley. His best interest will be for
North Fayette and seeing this eventual consolidation through. North Fayette will
benefit nearly 100% by the eventual consolidation. The buildings will be in
West Union. The jobs will be in West Union. Everything will eventually be in
West Union. All we’ll be left with is a crumbling school between Clermont and
Elgin, and a whole lot of debt and regret. But by then, it’ll be too late. They'll have gotten everything that they wanted, and we'll have exactly what our apathy deserves - nothing.
-Eric
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