JO Combs has a proposition on the ballot to increase their budget by 10%. On Saturday, October 20th, 2012, a school play was put on by the JO Combs drama departments.
At the entrance to the event, where the tickets were checked and programs were picked up, there were flyers for the attendees that supported the budget override proposition. Prior the the start of the the event, a 9 minute speech was given by a parent of a student at J.O. Combs, supporting the budget override and stating that a failure to pass the override would result in increased class sizes, fewer teachers, and fewer extra-curricular programs. Clearly the school was fully aware of what the speech would cover, since the microphone is not handed to anyone who asks for it. In addition, no attempt was made to stop are censure the remarks that were completely irresponsible at a paid school event.
The school district has also used the robo-dialer and student phone lists to solicit on behalf of this legislation. Families of students have received phone calls that clearly identify the school district on the caller ID, but are campaign advertisements for the measure. Families that do not have students enrolled in JO Combs schools have not received these phone calls.
These actions are in direct violation of the law: using public school resources and events to promote a proposition that will directly benefit the school district holding the event. What else has the school done with taxpayer dollars, in an attempt to glean even more taxpayer dollars?
