ShawneeDispatch.com

As election polarization reaches a fever pitch in western Shawnee, residents are lining up to support their opinion on the $105.7 million De Soto schools bond issue.

The Vote "Yes" Committee, led mostly by PTA parents, is putting out purple signs on public access land throughout the district -- some next to red-and-white Vote "No" signs from the Citizens for Responsible Education Committee, led by board member Randy Johnson.

Johnson is the only board member to publicly denounce the bond issue, saying he understands the need for new facilities to address growth at De Soto schools but that he's concerned about the way district administrators are spending money. Johnson announced his opposition to the bond after the Oct. 2 board meeting, using political ads in the Shawnee Dispatch to explain his opinion. He has criticized past decisions to award contracts to companies that contributed to bond campaigns; to eliminate a proposed elementary school from projects underwritten by a 2002 bond issue; and to build schools too small to be cost effective, among other complaints.

The board held two meetings at Lexington Trails and Monticello Trails middle schools last week, where Superintendent Sharon Zoellner addressed the allegations that administrators "misappropriated" funds.

"That's a serious claim to make, and it's a legal claim," Zoellner said.

In addition, the district released a five-page report on the accusations that explained their decisions on past construction available on their Web site, www.usd232.org. Lists of district payments are approved by board members during each meeting, are available to the public and are audited several times a year by independent groups.

Johnson said that he had read the district's response and called it a "list of excuses."

"It's unacceptable for the board to continue to accept these excuses," Johnson said. "They short the taxpayers on projects not completed."

Bret Rolig, Shawnee parent, accused Johnson of using scare tactics to express his opinion.

"I think your claims were the excuses and the responses from the district were very thoughtful," he said to Johnson.

Rolig also complained that Johnson had voted to put the bond on the ballot in February, along with all the other board members.

"I still can't fathom why you voted ‘yes' and then changed your mind," Rolig said.

Rolig also said that it was Johnson's responsibility as a board member to determine how funds would be used.

Board member Sandy Theirer said that if Johnson was concerned about overspending of the 2006 bond funds, he had plenty of data to make an informed decision and plenty of opportunity to influence the spending.

"When I vote yes on an item, it's because I've looked at the item from all sides, not because Sharon (Zoellner) has told me," she said.

Rex Philbrook, De Soto parent, said he was undecided on his vote for the school bond election, however he disagreed with Johnson's opinions.

"You've been writing a series of half-truths in the paper and you have given me no reason to vote ‘no,'" he said to Johnson. "If somebody who is undecided votes no because of that, then shame on you."

Board member Bill Waye said the past expenses of the board had nothing to do with the current bond issue needs.

"I think you're asking the wrong question," he said, referring to the vote "no" groups' claims. "How we spend funds in the next bond issue is not as important as the fact that they're needed."

Chris Akin, Vicky Needham, Peg Newton and Randi Flynn -- members of the Vote "Yes" committee -- said they didn't see an alternative to the bond issue in time to address the possible 300-plus students who will enter the district next year.

"You may not want small schools, but we like our community schools," Akin said. "I would like to know who is on this vote "no" group and why they won't stand up and say who they are."

Akin also asked if Shawnee City Council member Kevin Straub, who announced his opposition to the bond, was part of the vote "no" group. Straub told the Dispatch last week that he is not a part of the group.

Johnson said that the public would learn the identity of some of the Citizens for Responsible Education and vote "no" group after the election. Because the group is not a Political Action Committee, it didn't have to meet the state deadline Monday of reporting campaign finance and expenses, which would make a report public. Instead, the group registers with the county and will report in December. The Vote "Yes" Committee will make a similar report.

"We are not people against education," Johnson said of his group. "We understand the need for new facilities. We are just people who want the right thing done the first time."

Board president Don Clark, joining the meeting by phone, said he had also been uncertain with the high cost of the bond issue at first.

"I was also in favor of building larger schools," he said. "But after meeting with people in the community, I discovered that's not what people want. I started out doing my research eight to nine months beforehand so I could put my support behind the bond issue instead of coming out against it one month before the election."

Janine Gracy, vice president of the board, encouraged members of the public from both sides of the issue to get out and vote.

"We need our patrons to make an informed decision when they go to the polls and exercise their right to vote on Nov. 7," she said.