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To the Editor:

Enough!

As a final insult to taxpayers in Region 1 on the eve of the fourth attempt to pass a Region 1 budget, it has become public knowledge that Diane Goncalves, assistant superintendent of schools, has filed a lawsuit against Falls Village Region 1 representative Gale Toensing.

If ever there was needed proof of why this budget MUST be defeated again, and again and again until the situation with the administrative contracts is worked out, this is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

For voters “on the fence,” or deciding why to vote NO, please ponder these recent events:

Despite being informed by taxpayers from the very first budget hearing that the administrative salaries are a problem, the former board chairman, Phil Hart, and the current board chairman, Jonathan Moore, continued to ignore taxpayers’ requests. They were so brazen they even scheduled a special meeting of the board to be held after the first vote because they knew they were sending a budget that would be defeated.

Now three votes later, and a new board chairman later, they still refuse to listen to the public’s concern, “It’s not the total dollars, it’s the administrative contracts.”

The former board chairman, Phil Hart, lied on audio tape about knowledge of the suit against the superintendent. He has since resigned the chair but still serves on the board.

Lucille Paige, executive secretary to Patricia Chamberlain, superintendent, filed a lawsuit against the superintendent claiming retaliation against her testimony during the Pingpank Report. Please watch the unedited video of the last board meeting on the CATV 6 YouTube page to see a board with no ideas, no leadership, and no intention of doing anything more than re submitting the EXACT same budget that was just crushed at the polls.

And now this lawsuit … .

Three votes, three rejections, two lawsuits, a board that is isolated from the taxpayers it serves, a committee of local board chairmen as isolated and removed from the public as the regional board, a shrinking student population, static academic achievement, a report (Pingpank) authorized by the board and ignored … and a new contract for administrators calling for around ONE MILLION DOLLARS over the next three years.

This administration, and the administration’s majority block on the board, need to be replaced. Voting no on the budget will allow the district to continue to operate on the same budget as last year and keep the new administrative contract from being finalized. Then, replace board members in November. This is the only option for taxpayers as the majority block on this board is incapable of action to reverse this region’s spiral down into complete mayhem.

Enough already! Vote NO on the Region 1 budget again.

Marshall Miles

Salisbury