Guess who spoke at the council meeting last night? Matt Gibson!

Yes, that is right. Matt Gibson, Superintendent of Elmbrook Schools, spoke before the Brookfield Common Council last night! He was allowed about 10 minutes of public comment time. (The school district allows residents only 2 minutes to address the board before cutting them off.) Matt used his 10 minutes to promote the $108.8 million dollar referendum. (I thought the district was neutral on the referendum?) He also handed out a tri-fold flier to all the aldermen and staff.

Keep in mind; speaking before the council, at the public comment time, is done not only to address the council and gallery audience, but it is also an opportunity to speak to the wider cable broadcast audience.

The mayor already gave his support of the referendum in a Nov. 3, 2006 article, Officials back school plans, that he did not think the extra $287 dollars a year was too much to ask. (It has gone up since then).

That article stated, “Asked whether the projected cost and tax impact were in an acceptable range, Speaker said the costs were necessary to maintain local property values and educational achievement. Speaker said, ‘$287 to me is not a bad investment. To me, we have to look at keeping the School District competitive.’ ”

To our mayor, that extra $287 may not seem like a hardship. He does make $123,263 a year in salary and benefits--it is only about .23% of his income. But what about retired residents whose incomes are only in the $20,000 range? They would probably tell you an extra 1% is too much to ask.

Dr. Gibson’s speaking before the council last night and Mayor Speaker’s support of the referendum seems just too cozy to me. We know in the past, during the Swanson Swap, there has been cooperation between school district and city.
What do you think about this cooperation?

LINKS: Betterbrookfield, Brookfieldnow, Practically Speaking