THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH … my friend Ann writes to say she is “a little frustrated” about my $22,041 cost for the V-Gate investigation … I think we’re all a little frustrated with it, Ann … “I am told that there is a process in place to handle complaints and that those complaints are handled by school district employees. No outside people were hired, so the school district had no extra cost. Those who handled the investigation were only paid the salary they would normally get anyway for their position.” …

Did the person who told you this, Ann, also try to convince you Barack Obama was born in Kenya, and Santa Claus can fit all the world’s presents into one 8-foot-long sleigh? … our beloved school district hired three outside attorneys, who were paid anywhere from $180 an hour to $250 an hour for 99.4 hours of work … they were not district employees and were not drawing a regular district salary … but go ahead and be frustrated … you have a right …

SPEAKING OF $22,041 … my occasional pen pal Luther, who always addresses me as “Dude,” claims that I am missing the point of the V-Gate controversy … writes Luther: “If one shyster gets $250/hour, another $225 and the third lackey $180, how does this add up to a bill that ends with “41”? … now that is a profound question, especially coming from you, Luther …

“Now I am no math genius cuz Ms. Liuzzi wouldn’t have me in her class, but I don’t think that adds up.” … not unless one of those three attorneys is billing in 30-second increments … “Never mind all the hoo ha, check the bill.” … I’ve checked the bill and found your observations valid … “BTW, I got cut from my tee ball team and I turned out pretty all right. Check out the rims on my truck!” … indeed, your rims are the envy of the neighborhood, Luther …

EVEN MORE SCHOOL DAZE … Bruce at gmail.com thinks V-Gate is only the tip of a very large iceberg … “At Willett Elementary,” Bruce wrote in frustration a while back, “a window was broken by vandals with a rock — some five weeks ago.” … clearly time to ban rocks … “To this day, it is still covered with plywood. It is one of five windows in the classroom. If that glass is so special , change out all five, but GET IT DONE.” …

Haven’t heard if the window has been fixed since Bruce’s rant, but I wonder if anyone could do the job for less than $22,041 …

AND THE BILL CONTINUES TO CLIMB … according to Chris Saur’s front-page piece concerning a recent school board meeting, board president Gina Daleiden noted that “Tonight in closed session we gave direction to our legal counsel regarding the Crawford appeal.” … in other words, you can add a few more dollars to that $22,041 figure while you’re at it … Daleiden then added that the appeal will be heard in closed session … are we surprised? …

— Reach Bob Dunning at [email protected]

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