Ill-conceived decision by public official

To the editor,

The recent decision by Regional Superintendent Ulrich to deny the citizens of some Union County school districts the right to vote on consolidation confirms the notion that it is important to document unwise and ill-conceived decisions by public officials.

For years a prevailing opinion of many persons has been the position of regional superintendent of schools is a totally unnecessary and needless waste of taxpayers' money. Mrs. Ulrich has validated that opinion with her actions.

Consider the following:

(1) Mrs. Ulrich resides in Massac County. This county consolidated many of its schools years ago and she surely has benefited financially from that action.

(2) This effort in Union County was an attempt to place the issue of consolidation on the ballot and allow the citizens of several school districts to express their opinion on whether or not they wanted to proceed with consolidation. Such an action seems to me to be an example of a time honored democratic process. This simple accommodation of the public will would have allowed citizens to vote either for it or against it.

(3) Ten responsible citizens from each of the affected districts gave their time and effort to collect over 400 signatures supporting the idea of letting citizens vote on the issue.

(4) Mrs. Ulrich's primary involvement in the matter should have been to determine if these citizens' efforts had produced sufficient signatures as required by law to have the matter placed on an upcoming ballot. She had the right to express her opinion on the matter but should have been neutral and unbiased when doing so.

(5) Once the issue appeared on the ballot both the proponents and the opponents could have made their case based on any variable they considered to be relevant to the issue. In this manner citizens would have been informed and could have made educated decisions on how to vote on the issue.

As to consolidation in general, I have supported the idea of consolidation both as a school board member and an ordinary citizen for several years.

In my opinion there are far too many governmental entities in Illinois.

Throughout these entities unnecessary duplication of costs and efforts have driven up the cost of government and left us in a deplorable state of financial affairs. To remedy this somewhat I offer three suggestions:

(1) Vote for consolidation whenever possible.

(2) Campaign and vote to eliminate the position of regional superintendent of schools.

(3) Vote to defeat Janet Ulrich if and when she runs again for the position she presently holds.

In the meantime, if the opportunity presents itself, let Mrs. Ulrich know that we are capable of determining what is best for our local schools without her input or advice.

Sincerely, Ronald G. Bittle, Anna