Meet 5-term (15 years) school board member Caren Diedrich, who is currently up for re-election. It's no secret that Ms. Diedrich is unabashedly a fan of Dr. Culver's.Caren is perhaps most noted for her shouting match with Bristol residents during the "Boundary Wars" fiasco. As the STAR has pointed out, she is also known for her "different" ideas. During the high school quandary, for example, Diedrich--quite seriously--suggested building two school and separating the kids by gender rather than sides of the town.
Diedrich also staunchly defended the rationale for NOT bidding the architecture work for Horizon, Creekside, and the High School/Pool/Upper Middle School projects. That's nearly $150M of building. At an average architectural fee of 5%, that's a cool $7.5M in the architect's pocket. We DID get a 0.5% break on Creekside since it was basically built using the same plans as Horizon. Not to mention the fact that bidding the architecture might have provided the district with lower priced, yet equally fancy designs. Of course, we'll never know.
Another logic-defying argument Diedrich routinely makes is in regards to the "check approval" segment of Finance Committee meetings. You see, when a committee member suggests that a check NOT be approved, Diedrich always argues that the services have been rendered and therefore we need to pay for them. We agree that they should be paid for, Ms. Diedrich...just not on who should write the check. Regardless, if the committee's option is ONLY to approve all checks regardless of questions, what is the point of the process?
Perhaps the biggest indication that it's time for a change came during last night's vote on whether or not to commit funds to the pool hallway. When asked initially for her vote, she said (clearly frustrated), "Come back to me...I'm thinking". After the other 6 board members voted "Yes", it was Diedrich's turn again. This time, even more frustrated, her response was, "What's the point...there's already 6 votes...right...I'm not going to vote." Well, Caren, perhaps we should say, "What's the point" and not vote to re-elect you.
Based on what we've observed from Ms. Diedrich over the years, one might surmise the following:
Favorite Song: Tie: "Culver Moon" by Jackson Browne and "Bark at the Moon" by Ozzie Osbourne
Favorite Book: "Death of Common Sense" by Philip K. Howard
Favorite Poem: "The Death of Common Sense" by Lori Borgman
Favorite Movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (we suspect she's a closet Jack Nicholson fan)
Favorite Getaway Destination: Culver City, CA
Favorite time of day: 12:00 (AM or PM) ...Hands straight up, baby!
Favorite phase of the moon: Full moon , of course
Favorite Meal: Why, Culvers, of course!
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SP-EYE: With all due respect to Ms. Diedrich, 15 years is enough--it's time to let someone else bring something new to the equation. Just check out the body language of her fellow board members. It's clear THEY want no part of her.
Based on what we've observed from Ms. Diedrich over the years, one might surmise the following:
Favorite Song: Tie: "Culver Moon" by Jackson Browne and "Bark at the Moon" by Ozzie Osbourne
Favorite Book: "Death of Common Sense" by Philip K. Howard
Favorite Poem: "The Death of Common Sense" by Lori Borgman
Favorite Movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (we suspect she's a closet Jack Nicholson fan)
Favorite Getaway Destination: Culver City, CA
Favorite time of day: 12:00 (AM or PM) ...Hands straight up, baby!
Favorite phase of the moon: Full moon , of course
Favorite Meal: Why, Culvers, of course!
======================================
SP-EYE: With all due respect to Ms. Diedrich, 15 years is enough--it's time to let someone else bring something new to the equation. Just check out the body language of her fellow board members. It's clear THEY want no part of her.
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