Predicting the inevitable departure of incompetence.

On August 23, 2007, the blog drafted a letter of resignation for Dr. Bruce Williams. Of course, he resigned on September 11, 2007, just 13 working days later. For a board member, since they only have public board meetings every two weeks, it was essentially the next working day.

I have been asked to draft a letter of resignation for Marla Miller. While the outcome is inevitable, the District needs to retain her as an employee in order for the pending investigations to move forward unabated. If she leaves before the Auditor has an opportunity to expose their findings, the conclusions drawn by their evaluation may not have the positive effect of changing the manner in which the District does business. Marla is just a symptom of a much bigger problem - an absence of adequate checks and balances.

District management should not be goaded into thinking that Marla's departure will solve all of their competency issues. She has spent the last several years surrounding herself with marginally-qualified support staff and individuals that couldn't survive in their positions without her. If she leaves before a comprehensive evaluation, these deputies could linger and possibly rationalize filling the resulting void. That would be the last thing this community needs. Retaining a legion of Marla-loyalists would only result in her eventual return, perhaps in a more destructive capacity.

Every public agency that has the capacity and authority to audit the District should have the opportunity to do so. It should be done without a premature thinning of the herd. Those found responsible for gifting public funds and blatantly favoring vendors, friends and property developers should be made to resign in a public way. No one should tolerate guilty parties slipping out the back door under cover of darkness or the ruse of a medical condition.

For this reason, the blog will not draft a letter of resignation at this time. The State Auditor has had numerous opportunities to expose the innumerable scams and scandals, but to date has chosen the carrot instead of the stick. I have been encouraged by other agencies to let the process work - if it can - and then wait for others to arrive if the State Auditor falls short.

While we wait, the blog will continue to expose, investigate and root out any form of corruption it encounters.