Soapbox: This aud-it do it in Dist. 303

A very good idea has emerged in the St. Charles school district, where officials have instructed auditors doing their annual work to break down and report specifically how much District 303 paid former Superintendent Barbara Erwin in salary and for vacation and unused sick days. Because those items turned out to be such a controversial part of Erwin's contract and because the board did not publicly disclose terms when it OK'd her 2005 contract extension, an independent audit report on those items, line by line, should help clear the air.

Worth a try

Give St. Charles School District 303 Superintendent Donald Schlomann credit. He appears to understand dysfunctional behavior doesn't usually become more functional without a push. We don't know if his plan will change the unhealthy dynamic, but it surely can't make it any worse. He is asking the board to cut meetings to once a month and have board members spend the extra time as specialist members of four committees focusing in specific areas. "It makes sense to me to try and create a different model when our existing one has made for hours and hours and hours of meetings without resolution," said veteran board member Lori Linkimer. Exactly.

No grieving this departure

Sometimes when a business closes its doors, it represents a sad loss for the community. In other cases … not so much. In the latter category, take, for instance, the departure of "The Sugar Bomb," formerly known as Thumper's Gentlemen's Club, located on Route 38 near Geneva. The owner has defaulted on his lease, missed a court date and then had an $82,000 judgment placed against him. Good riddance. And good news that the woman in charge of the trust that owns the property says she definitely will not be leasing to anyone else who wants to operate another strip joint.

Sickening swims

Anybody but us think it shouldn't take an Illinois Department of Public Health warning to know it isn't wise to let pets cavort in human swimming pools? Yet some pet lovers and pool managers seemed shocked the department is advising against such animal swims in public pools because they are, um, unsanitary. A better question would be why anyone thought such pool sharing was a good idea in the first place.

A lesson to learn?

At the behest of special interest groups, governments sometimes are asked to enter areas not specifically reserved for government. Often they are experiments that don't work out so well. As in recreation centers in Elgin. And nursing homes in McHenry County. The Centre has never operated in the black since it opened, and McHenry County is now thinking about turning over the operation of its Valley Hi Nursing Home to a private firm. Could it be that it's wiser for government to stick to what only government can do and leave the rest to the private sector?

Cost of reality

Yes, "going green" is the fad of the moment and is generally a good idea. But its advocates are often steeped in an excess of enthusiasm and a lack of facts. A local example: The Gail Borden Public Library Board is soon likely to drop its "green" geothermal heating and cooling system plan for its branch library. Why? The board discovered it wouldn't pay for itself for at least four decades, making it financially infeasible. It's fine to study "green" alternatives and adopt those that make sense. But especially in a rush of enthusiasm, it's important to understand that those "alternatives" already would be mainstream if they had been able to produce better results at a better price.