County commissions and school boards always begin their battles during this time of year as school boards begin to develop their budget for approval by the county commissions. Of course the new funding is for ?reading,? or some other core function, while money is hidden in the budget for various other agendas. Chris Patterson, Director of Research at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, writes:”What enterprise do you suppose wrote checks amounting to $1.6 million for lawyers, $375,000 for various chambers of commerce, $311,000 for professional association fees, $90,000 for Franklin Covey (personal effectiveness and productivity training), $14,500 for Billie Arbuckle Adventures, and $2.7 million for Young Audiences of North Texas (arts and cultural programs)?” You are right if you guessed a school system.
Well, here with go with Currituck County?s two boards having a hard time seeing eye-to-eye regarding spending. School Boards act like they are the ONLY agency counties have to fund. These boards also use the ?child? factor when they don?t get what they are asking. Do you know how much it takes to educate a child? The answer is, “Just a little bit more.” But really Superintendent Warren, $98,000 for an activity bus? Priorities?
