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UPDATE: July 14, 2006: If you have been here before, and have been following the process of my trying to get the results of the community survey performed in January 2006, please jump here to read the closing remarks on this matter. I continue to be frustrated by my attempts to see the results of the community survey performed during January 2006. The Board of Education is trying to insulate itself from this survey by saying it was commissioned and paid for by the Issue Committee. I believe the Board was given information from this survey, and that information should therefore be disclosed to the public, as provided for in Ohio Law. Below continues the dialog between me and Board President Denise Bobbitt:
From: Paul Lambert [mailto:phlambert@msn.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 11:49 AM To: Denise Bobbitt Cc: Dale McVey Subject: Community Survey
Denise:
I was one of the folks interviewed when the community survey was taken in mid-January of this year. I’ve been looking forward to reading the results of that summary since then. A couple of my neighbors said that they also inquired as to when the results would be published, and were told that the survey was conducted using private money, and that the results would remain confidential.
That’s concerning if true.
First of all, I didn’t know that this was the case when the survey was taken. I assumed that it was the School Board who commissioned the survey, and I don’t recall the interviewer ever saying who in fact hired his firm. Stupid me for not asking, but I think that information should have been volunteered. At the Board meeting last night, Angie Weber stated that the ‘District did a survey…” That’s what many of us thought.
Secondly, I believe that the results of the survey WERE made available to the School Board and the School Administration, and that you used the results to make decisions about selecting a school site, and placing a levy on the ballot. It would seem to me that once you use that document in an official capacity, it becomes something open to public inspection and scrutiny.
I would hope that you take the position that the results of that survey should be released to the public. To not do so risks adding intrigue and suspicion to an already emotional situation.
Thanks Paul Lambert (614) 313-9262
Denise: Hoping to hear your answer soon.
Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: Denise Bobbitt To: Paul Lambert Cc: Dale McVey Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 9:44 PM Subject: Re: Community Survey
Paul~
Sorry...........
Have asked Dave Lundregan one of the campaign chairs to contact you since this was a campaign expense and he knows more about it than I do. Call me if you have questions.
Thanks, denise
From:
paul lambert [mailto:phlambert@msn.com]
Denise:
As I have said many times, I am in support of building a third high school. But we have a choice between trying to "sneak it by" a community which is largely ignorant of how their school system works fiscally, and making an all-out effort to educate the community and involve them in the decision making process both now and going forward.
At this point, I may have had more hits on my website than you've had people attend the Community Conversations. That's not bragging -- I'm just saying that the Community Conversations effort is not enough. Nor am I saying that I've got everything right. I constantly adjust my statements as I learn more (e.g. after last week's meeting arranged by the Big Darby Accord). But if we don't -- together -- educate this community about the connection between the cost of running the schools and continued residential development, including the role of the municipal governments in the process, residential expansion will continue unchecked, and we'll all end up underwriting the cost, in a significant way. Dale has a weekly column in the community newspapers -- 52 shots a year to teach the public how all these things relate. It's shame that the opportunity has been wasted.
So while I appreciate getting your note, and will enjoy talking to Dave (we served together on the Hilliard Education Foundation), this is not a question for the Issue 2 Campaign committee. It's a question for the School Board: Did you use the results of this survey in making your decisions about where to buy the property, when to get on the ballot, and what you were going to bundle into the levy issue? If so, then I believe it is appropriate for you to release the survey results to the public.
It should be folks from the press asking this question, but they seem to be scared too.
Paul (614) 313-9262
Denise:
It’s been over a week, and I’ve not heard from anyone.
I restate my view that the levy committee is actually an organization sanctioned by the school district, and will point out that Dave Lundregan, a co-chair of the levy support steering committee, is quoted in the SNP Hilliard newspaper (March 29-April 5 issue) as having been recruited to his position by Dale McVey. As such, material produced by the levy committee – in particular the results of the January 2006 community survey -- should be disclosed to the public.
Most sincerely, Paul Lambert (614) 313-9262
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