How To Piss Off A County

UPDATE: JUST LIE...

If I were asked to develop a plan that would most effectively alienate and aggravate the largest number of people in Grand County, I'd be hard pressed to devise a better alternative to what has happened over the last couple of months.

Divide and conquer is a powerful weapon... one which is inadvertently being used to great effect by the leadership of both the East Grand School district, and representatives of the towns and county.

Three days ago, the town of Fraser--deficit spending for the past three years--pledged $50,000 dollars toward a fund to be used by East Grand School district, citing the town's long term viability as a concern should the school close. This is in addition to $75,000 Winter Park has decided to launder through the Grand Education Foundation, and the $20,000 Grand Lake found lying around. Of course, there's the county's own folly to consider, adding a possible $177,000 to the mix. There hasn't been a peep from Granby. I'm afraid the current leadership of our communities will come to regret these actions. 

I felt, since I was complaining about how the school district has been handling its affairs, it was only fair I dive into the budget to see if I could find where the problems lie. After three weeks and quite a few meetings, I've come to the conclusion the school district's survival is in question. Buying another year for Fraser and Grand Lake is pure fantasy. 

I've met personally with Superintendent Karas. After discussing the budget with her at length, it is obvious the problems faced by the district are too large to overcome in its current form. In addition to an absolute failure in fiscal management, the district is faced with state funding requirements that have built-in exponential growth functions. These are programs that not only require full funding--they also have mandatory yearly cost increases. It will not be possible to sustain these programs.

The size and scope of cost-cutting measures required today are not even comprehended, let alone being implemented. The district has passed into a negative feedback loop where nearly every action taken to reduce costs is going to cause an even greater loss in funding. Without radical changes in thinking and leadership, it is entirely possible the district will not only have to close Fraser and Grand Lake, but the Middle School as well. This is not five years from now--this is within two years--probably much sooner. How is this possible?

The first problem is the district has structural spending, such as teacher and administrative salaries, that haven't even been looked at. We're talking about the majority of the budget problem right there. Preliminary cuts are being discussed, but the clock has already run out. Programs such as sports, used for political leverage in the past, are now going to become major roadblocks as the cuts start to come hard and fast. Citizens promised programs for votes are going to become disenfranchised, and there will be ugly fallout.

Asking for tax increases will only further anger citizens who've done nothing but support their communities. They also serve as an obvious sign that government bodies are out of touch with the economic realities we have been facing for the past three years. There is no more capacity to squeeze the taxpayer, and you in government better pull your heads out of your asses and wake the hell up. 

The cities, urged by the business community, have overstepped their bounds on the school issue and it's going to come back to bite every one of them. The leadership of Grand County, Fraser, Grand Lake, Granby and Winter Park are all going to be punished. Nothing could be more irresponsible than taking the opinions of business leaders as that of their communities. The representatives have failed their constituencies and, I would imagine, are finished politically.

Prepare for school closures, and get ready for the fallout folks. The towns' budgets are on the chopping block next.