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Tavares, FL - March 17, 2011 - I have given up on monitoring fiscal issues for the Lake County, FL school district.
I can’t do much more after 4 years of attending Board meetings, giving public input and posting analysis on this blog without being on the inside.
A fiscal Tsunami is heading their way…
and I keep comparing the School District staff and practices to the book Time Machine by HG Wells, where the flower children Eloi lived on the surface, and at night the cave dweller Morlocks came out and ate them.
Hounding the School District are Fiscal Morlock projects to:
- reduce property taxes under local control to sales taxes revenues under State Control,
- complaints from businesses about education quality (which may or may not be justified - I personally think it is partly a marketing problem),
- unrealisting demands from unions from "missed" step increases not based upon current economic trend data, and continuing to pay 100% health care and fixed benefit pensions (rather than 401k's)
- the land developer’s insistence on putting off impact fees,
- mandates from the State,
- reductions due to reliance on federal stimulus funding that is ending,
- State reductions due to expiration of federal stimulus funds,
- State reductions due to train and other boondoggle programs,
- State reductions due to HUGE increases in Medicaid due to Obamacare 2012 provisions, etc.
The School District is going to have lots of fiscal problems and I feel like I am beating baby seals or shooting bambi by making further fiscal comments. It is kind of like telling a neighbor that a Tsunami is coming, and they believe in Fate, and ignore you and float out to sea.
They don’t have anyone strong enough to stand up to all the Morlocks except maybe Tod Howard. The Morlocks will win. Where is John Wayne when you need him?
I like a number of the people on the staff, who are well meaning, and hard working, but they aren't used to fighting fiscal Morlocks, and I don’t want to watch while the Eloi are eaten. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/timemachine/summary.html
PS: Read Senate Candidate Mike McCallister’s book here, con page 40-41 about Florida’s ACT scores being 47th out of 50. http://mikemccalister.com/book/RightFuture.html
He is speaking at many Tea party groups and getting a standing ovation on this and other subjects. His kind of facts are more relevant than the FCAT B scores.
Meanwhile, other volunteers from the North Lake County Tea Party AND the South Lake 912/Tea Party are continuing to attend School Board meetings to monitor Board member votes, etc. If they send me something, I will post it here.
vj
