Monday, November 3, 2014

Frank Kelly - School Board District 3

Frank Kelly, Current District 3 Bossier School Board Member
And Candidate for Re-election
When District 3 voters first elected me last year I ran on the principles of transparency, accountability, and fiscal conservatism.
My opponent likes to talk about her 8 year record on the Board.  I examined her record.  I have campaigned only on the issues, my qualifications and my opponent's record.  Some of her supporters think I have been 'mudslinging' when I point out my opponent's actions and record. Every School Board member's actions and voting record should be transparent and we should all be able to discuss them and we should hold them accountable.
This is how I differ from my opponent:
1.  She ran as a Democrat twice in District 4 which is 40% Democratic, 35% Republican.  She became a Republican to run in District 3 which is 53% Republican.  I have been a Republican since I was 18.
2.  She voted twice for the Superintendent's $50,000 pay raise and the $1,000 per month car allowance: on 8/13/13 in the Finance Committee and at the School Board meeting on 8/15/13.  Two problems with the raise: 1). It came at a time when no employee had a raise in 6 years.  We should take care of employees before management.  2). In my opinion, the $50,000 raise and $1,000 per month car allowance are excessive.  
3.  She always votes with the Superintendent and Administration (3 exceptions in 8 years 5/1/08, 4/15/10, and 5/3/12).  Our Government and our school system need Checks and Balances.  Only the School Board provides oversight of the Administration.  I have opposed the Administration 3 times in my first 8 months.
4.  She voted for a resolution to expand Pre-K in public schools.  This means sending 4 year olds to school.  I voted against this.  There is credible research that shows gains achieved in Pre-K are lost by the 4th grade.  Adding Pre-K in Bossier would add about 2,000 4 year olds.  That would require about 100 more teachers ($7m) and about 100 new classrooms ($45m).  Furthermore, Louisiana's Dept of Education has already developed educational standards for kids ages 0-4.  Once a new 'grade' is established for 4 year olds, what do you think is next?  3 year olds and so on.
5.  She voted for the SRO Agreement on June 5, 2014. I voted against it.  I did not vote against school security, SROs, the SRO program, or the Sheriff.  In my opinion, the Board and the Administration should have prepared a better agreement to send to the Sheriff.  The agreement is poorly written and doesn't specify what the Board will get for the $2.5 million we are paying.  My vote was to protect the Board and the taxpayers.  See the agreement and my letter on my web site:  www.Re-ElectFrankKelly.com  
6. She was President of the Board in 2012 when the Board purchased 33 acres on Benton Road.  The adjoining land is owned by BBS Properties LLC-a commercial real estate development company.  My opponent's husband is an owner of BBS and my opponent is an officer of the company, BBS.  What do you think happens to the value of land when the School Board buys 33 acres next to the land?  Do you think BBS benefitted from her actions on the Board? 


I have confined my campaign to the issues, my qualifications, and my opponent's record.  Furthermore, I have researched the issues and most of the documentation (deeds, Financial Disclosure statements, etc.) is available for your review on the home page of my web site www.Re-ElectFrankKelly.com   

If you are a candidate for office and would like to address the voters with your platform for office, please send a few paragraphs to mybossier@gmail.com and we will publish it.  Attach a picture if you like and we’ll include it.

3 comments:

  1. As to Point 6, if Frank really believes that having a school built next door to a property increases it's value, I would suggest he invest in the tracts next to Benton High, Benton Middle, Benton Elementary, or one of the many other schools in Bossier Parish. Following Frank's logic, the property surrounding Bossier High should offer him a tremendous investment opportunity. Many of the tracts next to Bossier Parish schools have lain vacant and undeveloped for years. Some have been listed for sale for many years with no takers in a very hot real estate market. Wonder why? Sounds like someone is throwing unsubstantiated and sensational charges against the wall at a late hour to see if they stick. This bears the mark of character assassination from a person I have long respected. Pretty sad to see. All this for a School Board race, Frank?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such poor sport to attack Tammy on an issue about her family. If this stretching of the truth gets Frank over the hump and he wins it will not soon be forgotten. If Tammy were a politician instead of a public servant she would have responded in kind. Attacking her with misinformation over a little School Board Race is about as low as you can get.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I see Frank has taken down his smear campaign from his website. He should leave all those documents up for everyone to see. Why take them down? Republican vs. Republican race brought to a new low..

    ReplyDelete

Rules of the road:
1. No personal attacks or insults.
2. No accustory statements about wrongdoing or criminal acts against anyone.
3. Say all you want about the pros and cons concerning the candidates and the issues, or the general subject of the blog post, just follow Rule #1 and Rule #2.