This is an updated version of a proposal that the Cafe made in March 2006. Admin
The Cafe proposes that a committee of individuals be created for the purpose of carrying out an independent and objective review of Woodstock’s education budget.
This committee, composed of three to ten members, should be authorized by the Board of Education (BOE) to carry out its mission independently of the BOE with the exception of the BOE’s cooperation in exchanging information and providing clarifications as needed by the committee.
Nominations for appointment to this committee should be posted publicly on the Internet and in local newspapers as these nominations should be known to the Town citizenry.
It should be stipulated that nominees to the committee meet the following criteria:
(1) committee nominees and members should have no prior role with the BOE, the Academy, or the Woodstock school system;
(2) individuals who have conflicts of interest (lawsuits, vendors, contractors, etc) with the school system are disqualified as committee nominees and members;
(3) committee nominees and members should not have held Town office or appointment to any municipal committee or commission or be a member of any political party town committee;
(4) committee nominees and members should have some form of higher education or sustained experience in a profession; and
(5) no committee nominee or member should have a child entering into or currently within the Woodstock school system.
The committee members will be selected by the BOE after screening nominees for their experience and expertise.
The mandate of this committee will be as follows: (1) To complete a line-by-line review of current and proposed BOE budgets to determine appropriateness of all expenditures; and (2) provide an independent review of reasonable unmet needs of the school system. In completion of its mission, this committee will produce a written report annually to be published in a timely fashion on the Internet and in local newspapers.
This proposal is open for discussion.
