Sometimes it's just offensive.

I remember the first time the Edmonds School District used a preemptive attack to thwart bad press. It occurred when a local news station did an investigative report on speeding buses. They had video of buses being clocked with a radar gun well above the speed limit. A press conference was quickly organized prior to the broadcast of the damning footage. The District fessed-up to its record and provided a plan to remedy the situation.

As a result, there was no public out-cry.

Since then the preemptive attack has been a stable in the Community Relations tool chest, along with euphemisms to hide under and the standard slogan “It’s for the Kids.” The last deployment of the tactic was the costly flyer providing justification for the purchase of the land for the new administration site. This time, the District did not fess up to overspending by 2.3 million dollars for an old dump site. They did however provide a spin to the facts to make it appear they were doing “it for the kids.”

Now Nick Brossoit is conducting his own preemptive attack for the forthcoming audit of the issues raised on this blog by stating it is full of lies. There is no attempt to admit responsibility for anything. So I wonder; was it a collective hallucination that Bruce Williams resigned his seat on the school board when it was revealed on the blog that he was not eligible to serve? Did all of the experts lie on the King 5 Investigative report regarding the new administration site? Lastly, if Cathy Birdsong did not send that pathetically inappropriate email, where did it come from?

The best defense is not always a good offense. Sometimes it’s just offensive.

Editor: Thank you to another contributor.