Here?s a bracing headline from the McDowell News out in Marion:

?School Board chairman pushes for project, doesn’t know cost?

The story explains that the project in question is to move an electric line at McDowell High School that is in the way of a proposed Naval ROTC building:

When [Chairman Joe] Kaylor couldn?t quote a price for the work, David DuBose, who heads up the finance committee, suggested finding out before voting to do it. When other board members agreed, Kaylor accused them of dragging their feet on the NJROTC project.

“If the board don?t want to help the ROTC, just say so,” he said.

Philip Tate countered that the board had not even officially voted to build an NJROTC facility. And without knowing the cost of moving the electric line, there was no way the board could tell if it is a project that requires taking bids.

Common sense prevailed in the end, but that this was even a question demonstrates why governments so often spends other people?s money so unwisely.