One of the most important things that came out of the Jan. 26 regular school board meeting was the statement made by Mr. Brady, president of the EPOA. In addition to profferring a written statement, which was published in the Jan. 29 issue of Garden City Life, he declared that during the EPOA's interviews for the Contract Advisory Committee members, four were asked what was the principal reason the bond issue was defeated. The categorical answer was that the amount of the bond was too high. Any person with any common sense knew that before the vote was taken.

Among the other things that the Advisory Committee must do is to carve out the "wish lists" that the board permitted to go forward to a vote. Any person with any objectivity would have "nipped" such "pie in the sky" concepts "in the bud."

As soon as the board makes public the amount of money paid to the two contractors which relate directly to the bond issue, we will know how much money this board was willing to spend to fulfill their reveries. Nor was that all of the money that was wasted.

The numerous publications that were printed, mailed, and disseminated not only for the bond issue, but also for the St. Paul's study also added to the costs, as did the vote itself.

I recall a previous board chastising a citizen for causing them to spend $10,000 to defend an action based upon term limits for board members.

It was very edifying to see that the numbers attending the board meetings are increasing; that is what happens when the people have lost faith in the ability of the board to handle its own problems. The Contract Advisory Committee is a cry for help.

Finally, the board passed a resolution suspending one of its policies that advisory boards or committees be "residents." It was stated by Trustee Rudy that the purpose of this resolution was to permit administrators who do not reside in Garden City or within the district to be members of the committee. Do you want an administrator who resides outside the district to tell us how much we should spend on a bond issue? The money is not coming out of his or her pocket. An administrator's input is all right; an administrators vote, in my opinion, should not be permitted.

PS My previous statement that the EPOA is the best functioning POA was proved by what occurred at this meeting. Accolades to Mr. Brady. Unfortunately, I live in the WPOA area.

PPS If the board had accepted my suggestion that a Contract Advisory Board be formed about three years ago, the board issue fiasco may never have occurred.