What 'Thank You' notes, you ask?
The ones that should have come from 16 separate purchases of flower arrangements for district employees or their families in the past year paid for with taxpayer dollars.
That's right. 16 separate purchases plus $120 for graduation flowers for a total of $617.21.
I can hear Jim McCourt, David Stackhouse, and Caren Diedrich now: "That's a very small amount of money for an employee at trying time."
Right. And I'm having a trying time right now. I'm having a trying time as I TRY to understand how on earth the taxpayer should be paying for these. I'm also having a trying time paying for gas. How about you skip the flowers and fill my gas tank on the taxpayers' dime?
Someone passes away? Yes, it can be heart-wrenching. But open up your well-padded wallets and take up a collection of your OWN money...just like the rest of the people who work in the public service sector (and many of those in the private sector) do.
And I'm SO tired of hearing the winner of the lamest excuse/rationale contest: It's a tiny sum when you consider that this is a $65M budget. Actually, it's about $80M, but I digress. So the fact that it amounts to petty (vs. grand) larceny means that we should ignore it?
The school Board even has a policy which justifies the practice (Policy GBJA):
"The Sun Prairie Area School District may provide an acknowledgment at the time of a death of an employee or of a death in the immediate family of a district employee. The district administrator may use his/her discretion in determining whether to send a memorial or flowers. For purposes of this policy, "immediate family" includes parent, spouse, child, stepchild, and grandchild."Hmmmm...that really doesn't cover illnesses, childbirth, or general, "Don't you think the office needs some flowers" whims. Violation of policy. Par for the course in our fair school district....until enough people stand up at school board meetings, send e-mails or call school board members, or write to the STAR.
And...did anyone notice that the main offenders seem to be Horizon Elementary (HE), the High School (I see a movie in the works, " Mr. Keats Buys Flowers"), and the District Office. Are those just unlucky places to be an employee? Or are those just the places where our overpaid administrators feel free to spend the taxpayers' money????
Interesting side observation: all the purchases came from Sentry Floral Shoppe, except for the graduation flowers, which were purchased from The Flower Shop. What? Sentry is good enough for deaths and illnesses, but not good enough for televised activities????
Who thinks that District "Supplies" accounts need to be reduced in the upcoming budget?
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