Stay Off the Roof (until Wednesday)

I'm talking to you, School Board members.

Which ones?

The ones that 4th Ward City Councilman Timmy Occhipinti targeted on his Facebook page:

"The Kids First school board majority want to take the right to vote on a school board budget away from you!"

Now, we all know that Timmy's the wind-up toy for the Dark Side.

And their new front man.  Because just like you fill your car's empty tank at a gas station, Timmy's hollow cranium gets filled with the strategy o' the day by his handlers.  Then he's sent off to bark, nip and yelp as he's told.  And for a guy who had 575 'paid workers' in an election where he got barely 1,200 votes this one is near and dear to his heart- protecting Farmer Frank's April harvest.

While the pyrotechnics around the 'Let the People Decide' referendum have been entertaining to watch: a sneaky resolution triggering a City council walk-out, then a play at getting on the Mayor's Special meeting agenda (tonight), that's all they are.   

Boom.  Bang. Pow.

Then nothing.

Because the School Board meets on Tuesday and will likely put moving our School board elections to November on their agenda.  And the way the law was written, if the School Board passes it, it cannot  be undone by referendum.

Which has the entire farming community, their City Council friends (Mason, Timmy, Russo, Castellano) and their fertilizing squad (thugs, bloggers and a Texan) in a tizzy.

What's really on the line?

MILLIONS of dollars. Because they aim to 'harvest' their way back to into the majority, then with their paws on the $59 million dollar budget (and nearly $1 surplus) go back to the good old days when the   schools were a giant patronage mill...  don't you miss the guy who was paid to call for AC repairs?  Or those 'extra' janitors? That extra principal?

Here's what the Kids First-initiated audit found in 2009:

Auditors released a scathing audit of the Hoboken Board of Education Tuesday that cited more than two dozen irregularities, including the misuse of candy-sale funds, incorrect approval of overtime and the payment of administrators out of funds meant for instructors.

“It was just shocking,” said Board of Education trustee Maureen Sullivan. (GA Note: What the hell happened to her? She's joined the farming team)

In a random sampling, auditors found two cases in which funds raised by students through candy sales and other activities were used to reimburse tachers for stolen iPods – to the tune of $400 each.

In addition, overtime was being improperly approved by consultants, instead of employees, auditor Dieter Lerch said at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting.

Auditors also found that stipends to several employees were either not approved by the board or did not have other necessary documentation. Sullivan said in most of those cases the work was likely being done, despite the lack of documentation, but that interim Superintendent Peter E. Carter said he would conduct a thorough investigation to make sure.

In other findings, several administrators were being paid out of funds designated for instructors, the purchases for janitorial and that office and other supplies were not put out for public bid when they should have been.

Wow.

See what a bunch of crooks they were before Kids First took over and cleaned house?

That's WHY the Farmers of the Dark Side need elections to stay in April, when turnout is lower and a good harvest in the HHA can be decisive.

So, to my original point.

With MILLIONS at stake and a Board member or two perhaps making the difference... can you see WHY GA wants the BoE members TARGETED by TIM OCCHIPINTI to stay safe?

That's right.  Timmy put the cross hairs on 5 elected officials as impediments to an April harvest.  The 5 unpaid, hard-working officials of...

KIDS FIRST.

So Rose, Ruthy, Theresa, Irene and Leon please:

• Stay off your roof
• Don't eat/drink anything prepared by Tim Occhipinti, Beth Mason, or any other member of the Dark Side
• Do not answer the door for the 1-800-Anthrax delivery man
• Do not accept any package deliveries, especially if the box is moving or ticking
• Watch out for exploding valentine chocolates
• Stay away from thugs (you know, last name begins with either 'C' or 'H')
• Stay off the blogs

...until Wednesday, February 15th.