Opinion: Board members owe Sumter residents an apology

I noted in today's Item that the school board thinks it needs a large tax increase from Sumter County. This is really confusing. They recently implied that they had enough money to reopen an unnecessary school despite declining student enrollment. No matter that it would operate at a higher cost per pupil than any of the other schools.

When the state superintendent objected, the board had plenty of money to pay lawyers to argue in favor of their mismanagement. They had a "plan" that would get the district back on track financially even with the added costs. True, quite a few jobs might have to be eliminated, but that was deemed acceptable.

Now it turns out that the core of their so-called plan was a fantasy tax increase. Yes, they want the county to subsidize their foolish decisions. The board members who caused this fiasco owe the citizens of Sumter County an apology. Some resignations would also be nice.

GEORGE G. BERG

Sumter