Madison County Board of Education Needs Your Tax Money
Posted by ReactionaryThe Huntsville Times reports that the ” Madison County Board of Education is meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in a retreat at the Marriott Shoals Hotel in Florence”. “Superintendent Terry Davis has pointed out the already-overcrowded district has $160 million in needs today…”
I guess one of the needs is for the Board to take a two-day meeting in Florence, staying at an “elegant” “spa resort”. Will the school principals (”seek input from principals”) shlep over to Florence and back or do they get “plush guest rooms” too? More:
Adding to their concerns are cuts in Alabama’s Education Budget for the 2008-09 year. The district already knows it can expect 3 percent less overall from the state program that pays for teachers and other instructional needs. And there will likely be an 8 percent cut in transportation funds.
Madison County Schools held a similar retreat at the same location last year.
Note that the Times URL page is aptly named: “madison_county_school_board_ho”.
The Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa “invites you to experience a new level of refinement and charm among hotels in Florence, Alabama. Plush guest rooms feature comfortable luxury and modern conveniences, as well as private balconies providing stunning views of the river… Indulge in a lavish treatment at this Alabama spa resort, offering the pinnacle of rejuvenation”.
UPDATE:
John Ehinger of the Huntsville Times says Let’s annex the Marriott Shoals:
For reasons I can’t quite fathom, every time the Madison County or City of Madison school boards go on retreat, they hop in their cars and race to the Marriott Shoals, where for a few days, apparently, they engage in the kind of heart-to-heart dialogue they seem unable to engage in here.
I guess they sit in a circle on folding chairs and wail about how the people just don’t understand. But I don’t know.
In short, they take serious discussions of a serious issue - public education - out of the community they serve. And while the sessions (because of that darned state open-meetings law) are open to the public, how many parents can drop what they’re doing, find supervision for their kids and follow the entourage out of town for a few days?
The latest to frolic at the Shoals Marriott was the Madison County school board and other school officials. Superintendent Terry Davis was careful to note that the money spent was mostly federal money. That means, I assume, that it arrives from Mars every other week by bus and is thus paid by Martians and not by Alabamians or Americans.
I have a lot of respect for Ehinger’s professionalism, and now I’m gaining more respect for his humor as well. Madison County Schools Superintendent Davis just got schooled; let’s hope he realizes it…
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June 17th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
The MadCo BoE is a complete joke. They need to recognize that people move to the county largely for one reason: $$$. It’s cheaper there. With low taxes, which the people - your bosses - have repeatedly shown they like, comes a commiserate level of services. Deal with it.
Find a way to get by with less just like everyone else who is feeling the pinch of inflation. If that means modest schools instead of Taj Mahals then so be it. If that means no more road trips to luxury resorts on the taxpayer’s nickel then so be it. Stop whining and threatening and do your jobs.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Wow, I’m glad you pointed this out - that is simply amazing. I mean, could they not have put a little bit more space between the tax hike attempt and the tax-payer funded vacation. That seems to be even a little impressive for the MadCow BoE.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Also, here is a link to the post I wrote last year when they went to the “plush” resort.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Although the location may seem “plush” to some, I would offer that the environment retreats are held make a difference in the productivity and effectiveness of the meetings. Maybe an Alabama state park would be a more appropriate venue.
I personally don’t consider the Marriott in Florence to be a “luxury” hotel. Luckily they are holding the meeting within driving distance.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Matt - I’ve been to productive and effective meetings held in austere facilities.
My point is that the Madison County Board of Education is wasting money they claim to need for the children, and that they can’t be bothered to care about how bad it looks for them to traipse off to Florence.
What really gets me is that one of the topics they’ll probably discuss (at the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa) is how to ’sell’ higher taxes to the public.