Specifically EUSD. When voting season comes, even informed voters often don’t have thorough insights into all the candidates. Because of this, incumbents have a huge advantage, typically winning 90% of the time. They become the default -- no matter how poorly they serve their constituents.
Your school board has not served you well.
For starters, the board majority voted themselves a 400% pay raise in February of this year. Done far enough away from the election that they know you’ve forgotten about it by now. 400% raise! That means $2,000 a month PLUS benefits, all for attending one or two meetings a month. Nice work if you can get it, but haha, you can’t get it, no matter how qualified you might be. Keep reading.
There has been a lot of press about board member Mark Olsen taking a job in Utah in March, but delaying his resignation until July when his vacant seat could no longer be put on the regular November ballot. Just google it if you want to be angrier. This was THEN followed by the board majority conveniently declining to hold a special election for the 2.5 YEARS remaining on Olsen’s term. They chose instead to appoint someone, because apparently they aren’t fond of letting voters choose when there’s no locked-in incumbent.
The board is obviously smarter than voters because instead of picking one of an array of seasoned and well qualified applicants, including a former EUSD assistant superintendent, they chose a 27 year old political consultant with previous ties to two of the board members. Find the youtube video of the school board meeting erupting in shock and anger when that was announced.
One solitary board member, Doug Paulson, deserves credit for voting AGAINST the 400% raise, AGAINST choosing appointment over special election, and AGAINST the appointment of a connected political consultant to the board. THAT’S the kind of integrity and no-nonsense representation we need on the EUSD board. YOU can help make Doug part of a new board majority by voting for Shulok, Cascio, and Wagner.