In the song excerpt from the movie the governor repeatedly "sidesteps" the direct questions about shutting down the chicken house . . . all the while talking "around the question" never addressing the issue. Towards the end of the performance he starts singing about "loving to dance the sidestep" . . .

Sidestepping is exactly what this school district and school board members are doing with this referendum and their 5 year capital plan.

First of all the cost of the five year plan is over $260 million, not just the $162.7 million referendum - the referendum is merely the portion that they have graciously allowed us to vote on. The rest of it is spent by a mere vote of the school board and is known as "8% money" - over which we have no say.

In May 2006 they presented an "emergency referendum" to build two new schools in Bluffton - here it is April 2008 and I don't think ground has even been broken at either campus, and both are over the amounts approved in the referendum. And how have they made up the difference? With "8% money" of course.

Then there's the Whale Branch High School that is being built despite there being no rational, logical reason for building a new high school. There are hundreds, if not thousands of empty school seats NOB - we should be closing schools, not building new ones.

This referendum includes a $10 million performing arts center for Beaufort High School. For what? They have an auditorium already - why is a state-of-the-art performing arts center "absolutely necessary"? Fred Washington says it's "absolutely necessary" because "some parents" want it. Lord help us of "some parents" decide that they want a rocket propulsion lab - and make no mistake about the two of them (PAC and a rocket propulsion lab) are not needed, much less "absolutely necessary".

The same is true of an almost million dollar wrestling facility at Battery Creek High - for what? Why? Fred Washington again said that "some parents" called an wanted it. Maybe next they'll want a state-of-the-art film production facility at the school - all they apparently need is "some parents" to call him up.

The most readily-apparent assinine example in this referendum is adding classrooms to Mossy Oaks when there are hundreds upon hundreds of empty seats at Beaufort Elementary. But they would have us believe that these classrooms are "absolutely necessary".

Yep, this referendum can fairly be described as somebody's "boondoggle" - just watch school board members dance that "side step" . . .

Demand Accountability - Vote "NO" on April 26