Petition drive was democracy in action

Since March 10th, we who live in the area served by School District 15 have been fortunate to witness democracy and grass root citizenship in action. It was on that day that four of the seven school board members voted to issue $27 million dollars in bonds.

Many residents in the community believed that the methods of borrowing as well as the rationale for taking this step were flawed and of dubious value. After discussing the situation with several trained financial experts, I too became convinced that the four board members were in error.

Fortunately for all of us, six citizens - mothers, ladies and tireless workers all - came to our rescue and organized a petition drive that now appears to have been successful, collecting over 7,400 signatures, which is about 1,100 more than required to place the issue in front of the voters in November.

This extraordinary effort was made necessary because the board and administration refused to provide a detailed financial analysis for their decision. They put the cart before the horse when requesting $17 million by not identifying specific capital projects, a request made even more egregious since the administration's Five Year Forecast released only 60 days earlier and available on the district Web site, made no mention of the supposed critical projects they eventually made public.

This lack of transparency and honesty with the public they serve is obviously the reason that almost to a person my neighbors from whom I solicited signatures on the petition expressed real reservations about the board making decisions in the best interest of the district schools and the community.

The whole of Palatine Township owes a huge vote of thanks to Mary, Lisa, Jen, Leslee, Jane, and Vicki for their outstanding effort getting this issue on the November ballot.

Joe H. Heater

Palatine