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'Analysis or buffoonery?'
An "independent review” conducted by rappvoice.com of individual proposed expenditures associated with Rappahannock County Public
Schools' Proposed Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that appeared in the Aug. 14 edition of the Rappahannock News has to leave one wondering: Is it analysis or buffoonery?
For instance, a recurrent theme is the lack of questions raised at the Aug. 12 School Board meeting. This same “independent review” acknowledges that details were essentially based on recommendations made to School Superintendent Robert Chappell on May 15, 2008 in a facilities audit performed by consultant John Mather. Many of these are the same recommendations made by the 2005 Savings Through Energy Management (STEM) audit. Is it plausible that School Board members might have been aware of these recommendations prior to Aug. 12?
The plan calls for replacement of asbestos floor tile that dates back to the 1960s with new vinyl composition tile. The investigator asks, “Is vinyl flooring — hardly renowned as the most long-lasting of substances — the most energy-efficient way to go in a project with a 15-20 year life span?” It is “vinyl composition tile,” not vinyl flooring. Anyone with the wherewithal to use Google.com, which our investigator apparently lacks, could have easily found that vinyl composition tiles took the place of asbestos tiles, which were widely used in schools, hospitals, offices, and public buildings up until the 1980s. Why wouldn’t they be suitable for Rappahannock schools too?
Since the departure of reporters Kevin Allen and Matt Pelkey, it has
become increasingly difficult to rely on reporting of School Board meetings. There are important issues at hand and we need good information instead of buffoonery designed to promote a particular viewpoint. Therefore, I urge interested persons to attend the meetings and find out what’s really going on.
John Diley
Amissville
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