OPINION: Titan Will Add Stewardship to School Board
As a retired CPA, I applied my auditing experience to the Piedmont School Board for this election. About two years ago, I sensed that something was amiss when I read reports that PUSD refinanced some bonds to a type (called CAB) that roughly quadrupled the bond’s interest expense. So, using KCOM’s online video archives I studied the applicable archives. I know the justifications that many board members used for this school financing. But I find their decision outlandish. Ultimately, the School Board reversed its error and switched back to CIB financing, which saved the district from incurring an additional $26 million dollars in wasteful interest expense. As the public archives confirm, Dr. Titan’s leadership led to this $26 million savings.
If you’ve never attended a PUSD board meeting, please go to KCOM (Channel 27) and view any meeting in the archive. You will begin to appreciate the dedication, determination, and backbone needed to accomplish what Titan has.
If you have been following the employment issues relating to the rogue teacher-student conduct, or the embarrassing decision to appoint Victor Acuna as full-time athletic director at roughly $120,000 per year. Ask yourself, do you want a board member that has the backbone and perseverance to defend our students from such egregious personnel issues?
Prior to this election, I didn’t know Dr. Titan or any of the school board candidates, so I made a concerted effort to meet them, and study their prospective contributions. I listened to them at two separate parents’ club candidate forums and via KCOM, I watched them speak at Piedmont’s League of Women voters’ forum. It’s clear they are all nice people who want to make a difference for our schools.
But when you step into the election booth, set aside your friendships and vote responsibly for the one candidate that since 2013 has been working as a citizen watchdog to ensure proper conduct at PUSD. Titan will provide the stewardship need now on Piedmont’s school board.
Dai Meagher, CPA (inactive & retired)
Hari Titan is the one candidate with the expertise, courage and conviction to step out of the traditional “get along” practice of our School Board. This is why former and current School Board members are critical of Dr. Titan’s analysis and conclusions. Hari Titan is seen as a threat by the establishment; the reality is that this perceived “threat” is exactly what is needed.