Measure TT

This November the Pasadena Unified School District is asking citizens to vote for a $340 million bond for School repairs. The PUSD Board claim the schools need the money to be made safe. It seems suddenly that the $240 Million borrowed a decade ago that was going to put the schools ship shape wasn't enough.

Ed Diaz, the PUSD super even claims mistakes were made under Measure Y. First he balmes the 15 Architects hired by the PUSD. Then he claims there was not proper oversight, and the PUSD didnt have a good plan a decade ago, and they didnt have the staff to properly do the job. Thats kind of funny, since PUSD critics, including myself, Rene Amy, John Laraway, and Mary Dee Romney made these exact claims a decade ago,a nd as we criticized out of control and poorly thought out spending were made fun of and direded by PUSD staff and electeds for at least five years. During that time it was very very clear the District had raised money on the necessities but was spending o silly luxuries and doing so without any clear oversight. The people who were actually attempting to have the money well spent were labeled more or less as nutty. It was also often said they were wrong about the care with wich contracts were let and supervised. Now as a argument to give the PUSD another $340 Million borrowed from the Citizens, Mr. diaz without shame, contrition or apology admits that the PUSD had no proper oversight all along. Well, how do you trust an institution with THAT kind of record?

Measure TT relies upon several unproven ideas in order to succeed:

First idea- the State of California will kick in $100 Million..Anyone who has been keeping track of the california State budget knows this is highly unlikely.

Second idea- That the PUSD can find the money to borrow from a willing lender. The world financial system now has the tightest money in memory.

Third idea- The PUSD has staff who can properly oversee these projects. they simply dont still.

Finally, the worst idea of all is that we in the 21st Century should continue to rehab for schools buildings built in the main on standard plans for 19th Century factories. It would actually be cheaper and make more sense to tear them all down, build a auditorium, cafeteria and bathrooms at every school site and park in the PUSD and use portable classrooms as the demographic needs within the District altered and student populations ebbed and flowed from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Measure TT should be opposed because it makes no financial, operational , or educational sense, and because the PUSD is still not capable of effectively managing these projects