Two weeks ago all households in the Western Placer Unified School District (WPUSD) received, in the mail, a newsletter.  This expensive, four-page, color, WPUSD newsletter was even sent to households that do not have children attending WPUSD schools.  It is nice to know WPUSD has so much spare cash.

In fact in the newsletter we are told that “the district” was given “an extra $18.8 million budgetary windfall this year”.  With all the belly-aching coming out of the Capitol in Sacramento it is nice to know the reality is that Sacramento is so flush with cash they send out a “$18.8 million budgetary windfall”.  No doubt other districts received a similar “windfall”.

One has to wonder why we had a special election with Proposition 1A that was to raise taxes by $16 billion and Proposition 1B that was to hand the schools another $9.3 billion…may be to send out more “windfalls”?

The WPUSD newsletter goes on to tell us a committee was formed to “recommend school site improvements” such as “fixing leaky roofs”.  Ignore the fact that fixing leaking roofs and peeling paint should be normal, budgeted maintenance, and a committee should not have to be formed to “recommend” routine maintenance—but the solution is self-evidence in this newsletter.  Take a small portion of the “windfall” and fix the leaky roofs and peeling paint.  And then do not waste the money on an expensive, 4-page, color newsletter to tell us you used the “windfall” to fix the leaky roofs and peeling paint.

This is not rocket science, this is common sense.