Here we go again. A board member tries to get some information on conflict of interest concerns and is sanctioned but we don't know the details why. It sounds like the Re-2 board got too much advice from our county government and is playing games with money and power.

If you read the Flume, you'll see that one Re-2 board member was sanctioned without even notice of the complaint or a chance to defend herself. This from the board that's looking for millions from the taxpayers for their district.

Have to say it if no one else will. NO TAX INCREASES! WE CAN'T TRUST ANY OF THESE POWER-SPENDERS WITHOUT ETHICS!!

Here's the article and some quotes:

Re-2 board member censured on Sept. 12

"Jankiewicz was not given a chance to speak in her defense at the Sept. 14 board meeting before the vote, but she will be given time at the next board meeting to address the board."

"Jankiewicz said she received no notice before the meeting about what the wording in the motion for the censure would contain, and was not given an opportunity to defend herself at the meeting."

"She said that she felt she didn't need the board's permission to seek clarification on a conflict of interest issue that arose because her husband, Bud Jankiewicz, is a social studies teacher at South Park High School.

She sought guidance from the Colorado Secretary of State, who then referred her to a state ethics board.

Smith said the school board believes that Jankiewicz should have received permission from the board before going ahead with the clarification on the issue."

There you go. I don't know which side is right or wrong, but I do recognize control freakish behavior when I see it. Our government is riddled with it and it now seems to extend openly to a school board trying to get millions of tax dollars from us.

This sounds like a bunch of bratty kids trying to control the one that doesn't "fit in" and dares to question something they are doing.

How the hell do you censure somebody for getting advice on ethics? Was she snitching on them?? Why wouldn't they let her speak in her own defense or see the charges against her before the meeting?? What country are we living in these days??

Sorry for the kids, but I don't trust these ethically-challenged board members to do what's best either for the kids or with our money.

NO until the swamp is drained in the whole government. The board doesn't deserve our support or trust, it looks like from here. They sanctioned a woman for going over their heads. Sounds crazy.

The schools and education need to be supported. We need to make sure that education is a priority even among the scandals and the county's poor money management and lack of accountability. But when you see someone reprimanded for trying to learn more about ethics and conflict of interest in this day and age of our officials enriching themselves while stomping all over us, you have to ask what the really bad stuff below the surface is. The school board are a bunch of people who run for the seat in order to control things, after all. Some are dedicated and put the best interests of the students and community first. Others are just like any other politician, in my opinion. Sneaky and dictatorial.

I don't know which is which here but something really jumped out at me.



They're willing to sweep ethics questions under the rug and hide them from the voters so they don't lose their big money vote? Sounds like what Re-1 did to their voters. Hide information and con people into giving them money. Just like the comissioners tried to do, too. Can't the taxtakers ever do anything out in the open and give the taxpayers a fair chance?

Negative discussions about board members should be a priority topic of discussion when we're thinking about giving them millions of our dollars to spend. If they are underhanded in any way, we just can't give them more responsibility. Sorry, but that's all there is to it. Will the teachers not teach if they don't have a new building? Has every elected official and public employee gotten that shallow?

I'm afraid I'm recommending a No vote on this. The country is waking up to the mass abuse of offices that is happening in any place where they can spend other people's money and do a really stupid job of it to enrich themselves. We can't continue to make the mistake of thinking our local officials are different just because they live near us.

I'd like to hear more from the lady who went to the Ethics board. Will she tell us exactly what her concerns were?

And one more thing. I agree with Jankiewicz that they shouldn't "imply" charges from a private executive meeting. That's really nasty. If you are going to hint about that, then you have to make your executive meeting all public. Can't have it both ways, guys. Put up or shut up.

Thanks to the Flume for covering this so thoroughly. We really needed to see this.

I went looking for the ballot contents on the county website. Lately the clerk seems to hide all of that information until the last minute. They've had the ballot wording for about a month but it's not on the website. That always makes me wonder.

The clerk seems to prefer to wait until it's too late for anybody to write pro or con statements to be put in the ballot book. Remember the first time in 2007 where they changed the ballot question after the booklet deadline so nobody would know they were hiding a de-bruce of the whole county in the tax increase question? I think the clerk fired or demoted somebody for letting the ballot language out too early, but not sure. Could be wrong about that but we'll never know unless that person speaks up. I know there was some shuffling of offices, titles and pay raises after that. But the attempted ripoff got out anyway. And the attorney had the b---s to say he didn't think the phrase really meant what it said. What a bad joke.

You pegged it, MM. Just a sneaky bunch up there that doesn't care about right and wrong. They just care about what they can get away with. And since nobody will speak up, you have to imagine that they're all in on it and making money from the "special benefits" out of our tax dollars. I wonder how they feel knowing they've been bought and paid for and no better than the rest of the crooks or slaves?

Some people are threatened, some just volunteer to sell out.

My opinion.

Ballots will be mailed out soon and the clerk is giving us nothing. But I just noticed this link go up.

http://parkbull.com/politics/2009school ... xbond.html

Look at this - it's not even all for schools and education. It's for renovating "historical" buildings and using for anything they want to call improvements.

And they want to use any "extra" money to go for any other grants they want matched to do whatever they dream up to use them for. Wow!! And the taxes will just go up to whatever they need to pay for any debts they get us into!!

"and shall ad valorem property taxes be levied in any year, without limitation as to rate and in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of premium, if any, and interest on such debt and to fund any reserves for the payment thereof?"

Holy crap! This is not surprising, but definitely ridiculous. This isn't for the kids. This is for the bureaucrats!

I do beliieve that I will vote NO. It is very cruel to ask for tax increases as this county loses population by the droves. It is time for the government to tighten the belt.

Did you see that county attorney, Fairplay attorney, Alma attorney, best buddy of Big-Spending Sheriif and the Monty, Counsel to Conflict-King Commish John Tighe, and Park County Republican Party takeover Whip/Mogul Lee Phillips is now running for a seat on the school board? Somebody said "millions of dollars" and there he went. He's not happy with the mere hundreds of thousands his family is already getting from us? You can't seriously want us to vote to put all of that money in hands like his, can you?

Well can you??

How many people responding in this thread actually live in the RE-2 district? I don't

Localperson, we don't have to live somewhere to object to bad public behavior. I don't live in New York, but I think Charlie Rangel should be thrown out for being a tax cheat while he's writing tax law for the rest of us.

If we have property or relatives in that district we have a more direct reason to fight it. But the matching grant money they'll get comes out of all our pockets and will be put into the hands of these board members. It's unimaginable that they'd let that bunch spend 30 million of tax dollars. Especially with that lawyer who seems to think he should run the world. It's nuts. You just can't continue to ignore what's going on in our government. If we don't clean it up at home, we'll never clean it up at the state or washington level.

Did that lawyer ever decide if putting the "de-bruce the whole county" sentence in that road tax bill was accidental or on purpose? He had the ballot changed late using the excuse that it was a mistake but then he said they all knew it was in there, or something, right? Anybody without a straight answer shouldn't have any power or public money. I hear he's very charming and lots of people like him and think he's great. But you know a lot of people like that are. They fool everybody.

The reason this is important is that the money being mishandled just invites corruption and means the taxpayers will have to pay to clean it up or make up for what wasn't done or what was wasted. I don't think people who are afraid of ethics questions should be given millions of everybody's hard-earned money to spend. And Beanie is right. The other matching money comes out of your pocket and mine, too.

The clerk that changed that ballot for him is still there and will be counting the votes this year along with her bff the new elections official. Yes, someone was moved out of elections after that 2007 debacle and the clerk's buddy was put in charge of elections. All I can say is that the other candidates for school board or opponents to taxes had better watch the vote counting very carefully if you want a fair result.

The lawyer mentioned as a school board candidate is a very close associate of the clerk and elections and county people in charge of this election. They can't be trusted, IMO.

is that the same lawyer that got paid all that money for giving them the dumb advice about the guy they arrested for complaining about the roads

With so many houses sitting empty, how many students has the school system lost? Haven't they usually said they need more money because of overcrowding? Are they still that overcrowded?

This is from another tax issue but you guys need to know this too.

They also have another REALLY BIG ERROR on their promotion website. If they are trying to get fewer votes counted, this would be the way.

It says-
"On November 3, 2009 all ballots must be handed in or postmarked on in order to be counted."

POSTMARKED!!! If you wait to postmark it on that date, you can kiss it goodbye!!! You have to have it in the Clerk's Fairplay Office by November 3!!!

These fire people don't deserve to even get the money they're already getting. What a bunch of liars and cheats!!! These are not mistakes!!! They know better!!! Please spread the word and warn people!!!

It's exactly in its proper place and was put here purposely. I take it the people voting on the Fairplay side also need to know when to get their ballots in. Or maybe you are hoping they won't all get their ballots in on time, either. Another tax spender trying to keep voters in the dark?

I think I recognize your screaming and personal attacks. You're the person who gets banned for attacking other members instead of debating an issue. Then you are the crybaby who whines that they were discriminated against when they get thrown out for being an ass.

I see you're new. Probably not for long. "thetruth" is the kind of name someone takes when they're trying to lie and get away with it. Like we believe that chosen name.

Just guessing, but I'll bet both of these posts will be removed for breaking rules. So I'll just apologize to the admins now.

So you know? It isn't paranoia if the creeps are really out there. And boy are they.

Quite the screamer. The problem is the money isn't all going for the schools and the kids' education. Yes, I've been in all the buildings. I own property there and used to live there. It doesn't take $30+ million to fix those problems. And I think you're stretching some of your facts quite a bit but everyone here will know that just by attitude.

They are planning to spend a lot of that money for tourist attractions and "historical restoration" and not schools for "21st century education". And the board members are having a fight about ethics. Then there's that lawyer running for school board probably because he knows there will be millions to "allocate" and "redirect". He's already got his fingers in all of the other big money pies.

It's a dumb move in a bad economy and environment. And the tax money spenders up there aren't any more trustworthy than the ones we have down here. In fact, you have the biggest and best crazy spenders up there.