I was very disappointed by the Mercer Island School Board’s decision not to fund the $3,000 to place the almost $200,000,000 school bond measure in the voters’ pamphlet. This 3-2 vote was a vote for obfuscation and against the transparency so necessary for well-thought out governance. Adair Dingle rationalized her opposition by stating that she generally did not find voters’ pamphlets helpful; Pat Braman opined that most people already understood the bond issue and three members felt that since such voters’ pamphlets had apparently not been produced for prior school bond measures, this almost $200,000,000 bond measure, the largest in Mercer Island school history by far, did not deserve a pro and con analysis either. After all, spending .0015 percent of the total amount of the bond for printing a voters’ pamphlet, it was said, would not be good stewardship of citizens’ money. However, those in positions of power derive their authority from a well-informed electorate, and stymieing publication of the voters’ pamphlet runs counter to democratic principle. The board’s lack of openness and hurried presentation of a bond measure lacking fleshed-out plans deserves a “no” vote on the bond issue.

Eva Zemplenyi