School board’s job apparently to keep construction workers employed

Obviously Shadid is going to try to override the Governor’s veto on SB2477, regardless of his reported indecisiveness in this story in today’s Journal Star. So it’s not worth commenting on that much. But what I found particularly troubling in the article was this statement from district treasurer Guy Cahill:

Cahill, after being told of Shadid’s comments on Friday, said the issue “comes down to whether or not” Peoria wants to replace 100-year-old school buildings and provide jobs for construction workers who are nearing the end of the extensive Interstate 74 renovation project.

“The timing for new school construction couldn’t be better, in our minds, to keep people at work,” Cahill said.

First of all, since when is it the school board’s job to “provide jobs for construction workers”? Is that an unwritten part of District 150’s mission and strategies?

Not long ago, when statements were made that the school board’s planned building did not jibe with the Heart of Peoria Plan, then school board member Garrie Allen stated in no uncertain terms that such “urban renewal” is not the school board’s job, but the city’s. Which do you think will help school children more: long-term strategies for neighborhood stabilization or short-term construction jobs?

Secondly, the first part of his statement is a bald-faced lie. If the issue came down to whether or not “Peoria wants to replace 100-year-old buildings,” the school board would get authorization to do so via referendum instead of state legislation designed to bypass Peoria voters! In reality, the issue comes down to whether voters should be allowed to decide how the school board spends our money, or whether the school board gets a blank check for $60 million in construction money on our tab.