WHITLEY COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION-THE BATTLE GROUND

The Whitley County School Board elections are hot.

The Chairman of the Whitley County Board received opposition, a candidate with the gumption to challenge a sitting Board Member.

The retaliation was swift.

First, the opponent’s wife was called by Mr. Mahan and told to pick up their income tax information from the accounting firm where Mr. Mahan works as the firm would no longer be preparing their tax returns.

A call should have been made to the Whitley County Board of Education, to pick up its accounting information that is performed for the Whitley County School System by the firm where Mr. Mahan works. Why? Because he is a member of the Whitley County Board of Education and if the firm where he works does accounting work for the Board, it is an obvious conflict of interest. It doesn’t matter how many “Chinese walls” the firm builds around Mr. Mahan. It’s simply a conflict and an independent accounting firm should be hired to replace Mr. Mahan’s firm.

Next, the wife of the opposition candidate to Mr. Mahan was advised that she was no longer welcome on any property owned by the Whitley County School System.

This is wrong. First, she is a citizen, resident and taxpayer in Whitley County who has done nothing wrong, except her husband decided to run for the Whitley County Board of Education.

Second, her job has required her to give safety, energy, and conservation programs to students at the Whitley County School System as well as surrounding school systems.

Next, the candidate and his wife were advised the race was going to be rough and there would be no limit to the money that would be spent to defeat him and keep Mahan in office.

The pay for School Board membership supposedly is minimal. It is a civic duty to serve the community and to help the students.

If that is true for the Whitley County Board of Education, what part do threats, intimidation, vindictive acts, big money for politics have to do with trying to perform this civic duty?

We do not see this in the School Board elections for the City of Corbin or Williamsburg.

Ask yourself why these undesirable actions are present in School Board elections for the Whitley County Board of Education. Why is there such interest in power and control in that school system?

You know what is going on, just like I do. Ask your friends who are teachers in that system how it really is and what it’s like to work in fear every day.

Vote for those candidates with the guts to run against the machine.

David O. Smith