The Journal makes a few good points in today's editorial on the TV flap in Muskego. I think the most astonishing thing I have heard through all of this is that the taxpayers would have gotten so little back, individually, that it didn't seem worth it. I can't imagine that thinking. If they would have given something back, I can't even fathom the shock and gratitude of the taxpayers. While the amount may have been small, the public relation and good will gains would have been enormous.
The first mistake in the Muskego flap was made by the School Board last fall when it decided on a 4-2 vote not to return to taxpayers $430,000 left over from a $36.6 million renovation and expansion project voters approved in a 2001 referendum. Sending the money back would have sent with it a clear message that board members are serious about fiscal responsibility and saving taxpayers money.
Set aside the TV's (I can't fathom the thinking behind EIGHT plasma TV's) which will be of little use to students (educational programming is educational programming) the school board blew a great opportunity for future gains. They could have pointed to this refund and said "see, we ARE being fiscally responsible, we aren't wasting money" and turned that into fantastic financial returns down the road.
As is often the case with fools, shortsightedness and greed did them in
