Our lack of Fiscal Management is your problem, not ours!

Here we go again! The Douglas County School Board, under the “astute” leadership of Superintendent Erin Kane and the Elected School Board members, has once again extended their hands, asking for more of our sweet taxpayer money. It's almost as if they've stumbled upon a financial Groundhog Day, where every solution to their never-ending budget crisis is to just ask for more money.

This time, they're after a cool $490 million. Why? To build new schools (we don’t need them) and fix old ones (because they mismanage R&M) without having to actually manage their gargantuan budget effectively (thought, just maybe they are incapable of fiscal management?). Since 2018, when voters last approved a bond, it seems all that money has vanished like a magician's rabbit (buying properties they did not need), and now they're back, hats in hand, pleading for your generosity to bail them out of their fiscal follies.

But let's get this straight: They need $490 million because they haven't passed a bond in five years? And their grand solution is to pile on more debt, without increasing taxes, because, magic! Somehow, this time, it's different. LOL

Consider the comedic irony here. Superintendent Kane and the board use the left-scare tactics of needing this bond to ensure "safe and adequate educational spaces," as if the concept of budgeting within their means is as foreign as a balanced federal budget. And let's not forget, this isn't their first rodeo. Just last year, they asked for $488 million, and voters said, "Thanks, but no thanks," with 52% opposing the bond. AND WE NEED TO REJECT THIS AGAIN!

But fear not, dear taxpayers, because if you don't approve their latest financial extravaganza, property taxes will decrease. Oh, the horror! Imagine keeping more of your own money. What a novel concept!

And here’s the kicker: If this bond doesn't pass, Erin Kane forecasts "significant financial impacts and disruptions to students." Of course, imposing even more progressive scare tactics is the best way to manage a budget crisis rather than actually solve it, pushing the burden onto future taxpayers.

It's high time we demand more than just asking for perpetual handouts from Erin Kane and our school board. Fiscal responsibility isn't just a catchphrase to toss around during election seasons, it's a practice that should be ingrained in the very fabric of our educational system. Until then, we're just spectators at their fiscal circus, and they want us, the citizens of Douglas County to drive their clown car.

So, as you ponder whether to support their latest financial plea, ask yourself: Do we want to continue funding this cycle of fiscal irresponsibility? Or is it time to demand accountability and real management of the resources we already entrust to them? Because at the end of the day, it's not just their problem, it's ours.

https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/.../douglas-county.../...