UPDATE TO READERS: Contrary to this notice below, the bids were opened at 3 pm on Nov. 5. Post one thing, do another and don’t let the public in on the switch – or board members either. Timberlane doesn’t need a PR person, it needs some ethics.
NOTICE OF MEETING
The Timberlane Regional School Board’s Community Relations
Committee will meet on Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 6:30 pm at
the Superintendent’s Office, 30 Greenough Road, Plaistow. The
agenda will include the opening of public relations bids.
The public is welcome to attend.
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I will report back on how many bids were received.
timberlaneandsandown 
How are they paying for this? I don’t recall the budget including funding for a PR Consultant. I’m assuming they will pay for this out of this years (default) budget. Do you know the object code this will be funded against?
That has not been revealed.
Tomorrow the board is going to pass a policy stating that the SAU does not have to notify the board about transfers of funds between budget lines for any amounts less than $25,000. Dr. Metzler said that he would disclose transfers under $25,000 voluntarily. I’m hoping to see a monthly report.
Perhaps some of the confusion about ‘where does the money come from problem?’ is caused by the mistaken opinion of many taxpayers and voters that the ‘default budget’ meant a ‘ no frills’ budget.
Obviously there is built in ‘slush fund’ in the Timberlane school budget. That is how under a default budget we have the money to fund a PR department and the $50,000 for Superintendent Metzler’s wife to become the Spanish Program consultant.
The hidden slush fund certainly will make it difficult for the voters to ‘cut the budget to the bone’, since there are so many layers of fat built into the budget.
Timberlane instituted Full-time kindergarten under a default budget. (Tuition has to be put into revenue and was not spent on the program.)
They are going to be hiring a PR consultant under a default budget.
The $50k for Mrs. Metzler came from the previous year’s budget surplus.
Yes, there is plenty of “contingency” padded throughout the budget. The budget committee has never seen a bone.