The Belle Valley grade school has a fund balance of approximately $15 million. This is one of the largest in the state, if not the largest, for a grade school of comparable size. It also has the second highest grade school tax rate in the county.

The surplus is due, in part, to a grant for the new school.

With a large surplus, one would expect a substantial tax reduction, which has repeatedly been promised by Superintendent Louis Obernuefemann but never initiated. Instead the board has been quietly using, and will continue to use, a chunk of the money to cover a shortfall caused by underestimating the residents' tax liability for the new school building.

Since the board doesn't release minutes from executive sessions, we probably will never know if the error was made by an inept board, or if the board knew better but engaged in gross deception.

I asked board President Karen Kunz how she and the board could do such a thing. She stated that at the time of the bond issue, she didn't know the assumptions were wrong. Sadly I believe her since she doesn't seem to have a grasp on many of the important issues.

This is just another reasons she should resign.

Ted Farmer

Belleville