* "What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog." ---Dwight D. Eisenhower  * * * *   May 8,  2013 scroll down for update   * April 12, 2012   BOARD PREFERS PETTINESS OVER PATRIOTISM GO  * May 8, 2013 FEWEST NUMBER OF VOTERS IN PAST 10 YEARS PASS THE FOREVER LEVY  The Watchdog is disappointed that the May 7, 2013 FOREVER levy passed.  Here are some facts worth noting: The May 7, 2013 election had the lowest voter turnout since February 2003 (10 years ago) Six Hundred (600) more people voted against the May 7 levy than voted against the Feb. 2003 levy About Two Hundred Fifty (250) fewer people voted for the May 2013 levy than voted for the levy in 2003. Feb. 2003 May 2013 For the Levy 2850 2607 Against the Levy 1038 1638 Total (2013 preliminary) 3888 4245    Nearly One Thousand (1000) fewer voters turned out for the May 7, 2013 levy than turned out for the August 2012 levy (one year ago). Nearly Three Hundred (300) more people voted against the May 2013 levy than voted against the levy one year ago. Nearly Thirteen Hundred (1,300) fewer voters voted for the May 2013 levy than voted for the levy one year ago.  Aug. 2012 May 2013 For the Levy 3905 2607 Against the Levy 1364 1638 Total (2013 preliminary) 5269 4245   To put the low voter turnout into perspective, the last election held in NOVEMBER (when voter turnout is typically high) was in 2010 when more than 12,000 voters in Brecksville-Broadview Hts. turned out to cast their votes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  April 30, 2013  Board shows CONTEMPT for OPEN GOVERNMENT Holds Secret Meeting to Discuss Levy Matter In their letter to the Editor asking the community to support the “continuing” levy on the May 7, 2013 ballot, the Board members said the following: “We have discussed at length the timing of this issue and the request to convert it to a continuing levy.” —Board President, David Tryon, Board Vice-President, Mark Jantzen, and Board members Mark Dosen, Kathleen Mack, and Michael Ziegler, Letter to the Editor of Sun Star Courier, April 25, 2013  The Board did NOT discuss, let alone “discuss at length”—at any public meeting—   (1)   the “timing of this issue” (putting the levy on the May 7 ballot) or (2)   whether or not to convert this renewal levy to a continuing levy!      QUESTION:  So, WHEN did the Board discuss the timing of the levy and converting this renewal levy to a continuing levy?   ANSWER:  AT A SECRET MEETING!   The Watchdog recently discovered that the Board held a SECRET MEETING in December 2012.  The meeting was not announced to the public.  In fact, the meeting took place at a time when the Board specifically announced that there would NOT be a meeting!  The Board did not make an audio recording of the meeting.  There are no minutes to show what occurred during the meeting.  The Watchdog discovered the fact that a secret meeting took place after reviewing minutes and noticing that a Board meeting was adjourned one half hour after Executive Session had concluded and there were no other items on the agenda after the Executive Session. The fact that the secret meeting took place to discuss a levy matter at that time was confirmed by Board President, David Tryon in an email to me when I pressed him on the issue.  In that email, the Watchdog learned that, during the SECRET MEETING, the Board discussed a “LEVY PLANNING” memo from a Board-hired “levy cycle analyst/consultant”!  The memo outlines recommended and sample levy planning strategies. Three weeks after the secret meeting, at its very next meeting on Jan. 7, 2013, the Board--without any deliberation at all--voted unanimously in favor of   (1)   putting the renewal levy on the ballot as a continuing levy—just as the “levy cycle analyst/consultant” recommended in the “Levy Planning” memo; and, (2)   to put the levy on the May 7 ballot--just as the “levy cycle analyst/consultant” suggested as an “example” in the “Levy Planning” memo! Ohio law requires deliberation of the public business to be done in public!!!  [ORC 121.22 (C)]  By having this secret discussion, this Board shows a total lack of respect for the law.  It is inexcusable. Considering the fact that the Board’s MISSION is to teach children to become good citizens of a “global society” instead of having a mission to teach children to become good citizens of our great nation (go), we should not be surprised that the Board would hold a secret meeting and arrogantly thumb its nose at a fundamental principle upon which our nation was founded: that of OPEN GOVERNMENT.  WHY THIS MATTERS:  “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them . . . To cover with the veil of secrecy the common routine of business, is an abomination in the eyes of every intelligent man.”—James Madison, aka the “Father of the Constitution”   This is what our school officials did: Board President, David Tryon:  presided over the secret meeting. Superintendent Scot Prebles:  initiated the secret meeting (according to Mr. Tryon). David Tryon and Superintendent Prebles:  did not include the discussion of the levy matter on the Board agenda David Tryon:  announced that "there will be no further official business" after Executive Session (which is when the secret discussion of the levy matter occurred). Board members, Mark Jantzen, Mark Dosen, Kathleen Mack, and Michael Ziegler:  participated in the secret meeting. Treasurer Rick Berdine: helped conceal the secret meeting by not making an audio recording of the secret discussion about the levy matter, and by not making minutes (as required by *law) of the secret meeting.  *[ORC 121.22 (C)]  Board members, Jantzen, Dosen, Mack, Ziegler, and Tryon approved the minutes of the December 17, 2012 meeting which conceal the fact that a discussion of the levy matter took place after Executive Session.  All of the Board members who talk about wanting "transparency" are hypocrites and unworthy of our trust.    To read my comments to the Board in which I ask what the Board discussed during the Dec. secret meeting, go here.   VOTER ALERT!  On May 7, 2013-- VOTE NO to the "FOREVER LEVY" disguised as a "Renewal Levy"! go  April 25, 2013 In their letter to the Sun Star Courier April 25, 2013, the Board members said the following is one reason for putting the levy on the ballot as a “continuing” (forever) levy: “This will eliminate ‘levy fatigue’.”  —BBHCSD Board members, David Tryon, Mark Jantzen, Mark Dosen, Kathleen Mack, Michael Ziegler The Board saying that people are tired of voting on levies reminds me of the following quote: “The truth is that men are tired of liberty.”  —Benito Mussolini, Italian Fascist Dictator (1922-1943) I’m not saying our Board is a group of Fascists--I’m just quoting the Board and the Fascist dictator!  I can understand a dictator justifying his desire for power by saying that people are tired of liberty.  But our School Board, in a nation founded on freedom, should NEVER justify its desire for "the power to  impose permanent taxes on our community forever"  by taking the position that we, as voters, are simply tired of voting. Considering the fact that the Board’s MISSION is to teach our children to become good citizens of a “global society” (instead of having a mission to teach our children to become good citizens of our great nation) GO, we really should not be surprised that the Board is trying to convince the community to give up their right to vote on school levies--a right we should cherish and protect!  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  May 7 Levy Scooby-Dooby-Doo-Doo GO  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   ENROLLMENT PROJECTED TO DECLINE by NEARLY 1000 STUDENTS OVER 10-YEAR PERIOD OF TIME! (2008-2018) go  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    BOARD PLANS TO SPEND, and SPEND, and SPEND EVEN MORE Despite Declining Enrollment, Reduction in Staff go -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    IS BOARD MISUSING TAX DOLLARS TO PROMOTE PASSAGE OF A TAX LEVY? JUDGE FOR YOURSELVES go   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------      * ALERT TO COMMUNITY! BOARD'S CREATED APPEARANCE OF "TRANSPARENCY" IS ONLY AN ILLUSION GO *  BBHCSD SCHOOLS PROMOTE ACCEPTANCE OF HOMOSEXUALITY go  * When Levies Fail:  Board Inflicts Punishment What Can the Public Do? In his October 4, 2009 e-mail document titled "Common Questions about our School District," (former) Board Member Dave Dosen said the following: Q:  If the levy fails, won't they cut busing, sports, arts, etc. until it passes? A:  I hear this all the time and it shows how the voter believes that they don't have any influence over their schools. Most people are aware that these cuts don't result in substantial savings but instead are made to "motivate" the public into approving the levy. The final decision to make these cuts rests with the elected School Board. If you don't agree with their decision, call, write, or e-mail them and let them know your thoughts.-- Dave Dosen    The Watchdog believes the most effective way to communicate with the School Board is at a public Board meeting.  In the more than seven years that I have been watching the Board, its members RARELY (if ever) reveal concerns the public has brought to them via telephone calls, letters, or e-mails.  It's easier for the Board to ignore the public when the public communicates with the Board on a private personal level, than to ignore the public when those concerns are brought to light at a public meeting.