OPUSD needs new plan

What do we do now? Thanks to the levelheaded voters of Oak Park who exercised intelligent independent thought, the inflow of corporate dollars was unable to mask the odor of a rotting fish in local politics. The voters of Oak Park soundly rejected bond Measure H6. The fact remains that the school district does need funding to make repairs and to sustain the infrastructure of our A-plus school district. Where do we go from here?

A community-based approach to a reasonable and fiscally responsible bond proposal must now be initiated. I suggest that the OPUSD sever all ties with UBS Financial Services and with the architectural firm/construction adviser. These two special interest sponsors spent a lot of money to secure the passage of H6 and B6 before it.

A good idea that is presented in a straightforward manner with honesty and integrity will garner wide support without the need for a hard-hitting aggressive campaign. Large corporate sponsorships and grossly overinflated construction costs should not be the hallmark of our little community. We are not a large city like Los Angeles where back door deals and government waste are the norm. We must kick out special interest corporate campaign dollars and open all of our construction contracts to the competitive bidding process.

It is my belief that the majority of Oak Park residents support our school district and would overwhelmingly approve a reasonable bond issuance. It is imperative that any future school bond campaign must be transparent and run with the highest level of integrity, honesty and community participation, all of which were lacking in the pro-H6 campaign.

I call on the OPUSD Board of Education to solicit a panel of community members and impartial experts to pursue the implementation of a reasonably priced bond issue that we can all support. Thomas Rouse Oak Park