Well, the TODAY newspaper for 31 August is out. Top banner, front page: "Schools' $211 bond election on ballot".

But, you read it here first.

A few selected quotes from Steve Snyder's article, (Links tomorrow, when the on-line edition comes out.)

"... the bond committee was sold on the bond ... by an outside consultant, Phillip 'Red' Whiddon of The School Business Group."

"...Lewis then found Whiddon doing custodial and other out-sourcing work at the Keller School District..."

Right.

Allow me to provide some on what Mr Whiddon was doing to Keller ISD.

Now a new company that trustees hired to move the maintenance department under district control says it expects the district to pay $285,170, almost twice as much as the $164,000 that the company and district officials originally agreed to.

Trustees learned of the cost overruns Feb. 10 in an informal report. The overruns were never mentioned in periodic maintenance reports that were shared with the school board.

According to the original contract, The School Business Group was to receive $84,000 for temporarily overseeing the maintenance department, which includes custodians, and grounds and maintenance workers. It was also to receive $80,000 for a comprehensive review of the maintenance department, including a plan for long-term improvements.

So far, the district has paid more than $154,000 to The School Business Group, largely for supervising maintenance. Company executive Philip "Red" Whiddon estimated that about 10 percent of the work on the comprehensive review has been completed. The district has received more bills, but has not paid them yet, Stone said.

Dr Lewis says "We had an outside entity" -- Mr Whiddon -- "audit Gallagher, the Lancaster School District, Corgan and Associates..."

Right.

Mr Whiddon presented a power-point slide to the board reporting he had been hired to "analyze" the district's '04 bond project.

I am not a financial expert, but it seems to me that analysts are somewhat different than auditors. Analysts are the guys on the business news TV shows telling us to buy Enron. Auditors are the guys from the Security and Exchange Commission digging thru the remains trying to find out who pocketed the stolen money from Enron.

Mr Whiddon, as far as I know, is not an accountant. He's no doubt qualified, even over-qualified, to be run a school custodian's office. I'm not so confident he can figure out where the 2004 Bond money (some $110 million dollars) all went.

However that may be, Mr Whiddon reported to the Lancaster Board of Trustees that work left undone from the 2004 bond projects were the result of "the scope of work expanding". I heard Mr Whiddon introduce the expression "scope creep" to the board. (This is how a $65 Million dollar high school and stadium wind up costing $72 Million, or was it $74 Million, or was it...?)

Scope creep. Yes sir. We gotta watch that creep.

Mr Whiddon also presented a slide to Trustees claiming he had "facilitated" four meetings of the Bond Advisory Committtee.

He was including the Monday, 28 August Board of Trustees meeting among the four. Those of us on the committee might have counted him "facilitating" one committee meeting and attending two more. But who's counting? We already know Mr Whiddon is not hired to be picky about school districts' and their numbers.

Mr Whiddon says "Thank goodness the board didn't sink $4 Million into West Main and Pleasant Run, and instead held the money back."

Right.

Exactly where, in whose pocket, and for what, is that money being "held back", I wonder? If it even exists any more. Board member Carolyn Morris doesn't seem to think even one million of the original $110 is left, after the district has paid points to secure their "AAA" bond rating. But an auditor ( I mean analyst) like Mr Whiddon surely speaks truly and carefully about hold backs ...

Dr Lewis says he accepted the judgement of the (May) taxpayers. One trusts the November voters' opinions are equally welcome.