Public servant or self-server?

The greatest calling in life is service unto others, whether provided on a volunteer basis or as a career vocation in the private or public sectors. In public education, we are all public servants.

Decision-making in public education should always be driven by the best interests of the student. Sometimes, however, decision-making in public education is driven by self-interest. In such instances, students always lose.

Take, for example, the peculiar case of defeated FUHSD Board of Trustee incumbent Jim Hutcherson. Six days after being resoundingly turned out of office by the electorate, Hutcherson is jockeying for a sweetheart deal that will cost the district (students) an unknown amount of money for an unspecified time.

The sweetheart deal? A fully paid, lifetime health insurance package that will cost tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is extraordinary and distressing on many levels. Consider: in a breathtaking stroke of audacity, this item was placed on the consent agenda of the November 13 board meeting (reserved for time-saving, routine measures decided without discussion) and included an Enron-style bookkeeping assessment of “no cost to the district.”

Furthermore, no departing board member in the 113-year history of the district has ever received, or sought, such a windfall for a part-time, quasi-volunteer position. Not even employees of the district who have worked full-time for 30 or more years are eligible, much less considered, for such a handsome health insurance benefit package.

In short, it has never happened. Even so, perhaps more understanding is needed for Hutcherson here. Without the proposed no-cost, lifetime health insurance he seeks, Hutcherson will have to suffice on the teacher’s health insurance package he receives from the Bonsall school district where he teaches. And Hutcherson knows better than anyone how tough that can be on the wallet; in the past two years employee health insurance costs have quadrupled at FUHSD, not only with his knowledge but with his approval.

Public servant or self-server? Our students are smart enough to figure this out, and they are the ones who will lose if Hutcherson gets away with this money grab.

Dave Evans