In direct contrast to the information furnished by Chief Financial Officer, Mike Addison, and backed up by Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, Banks says he “is sure it (the $7 million to $8 million required to fund this motion), is available”. Obviously, Mr. Banks’ strong suit is not economics. According to Addison’s report in October, the CCSD is looking at a $73 million dollar deficit. Banks wants to increase that deficit by 10% or more.

Not one single member of the board seconded his motion. It is, therefore, dead…..at least until he reintroduces it, which could be as early as the next meeting.

As has been typical of Banks’ tactics, he, once again, in an interview with the MDJ earlier in the week, tried to tie the “calendar issue” into the remuneration issue. Previously he tried to say that we had “given the employees the balanced calendar as compensation for cutting their pay.” That is, of course, hogwash. When the calendar issue was being debated, there was nothing brought up about the pay reductions. Listen up please, David. Pay reductions are about compensation. The calendar is about working conditions. No relationship exists between the two.

Of course, to most people, all this is merely Bank’s way of trying to ingratiate himself to the CCSD employees, in hopes it will help him win re-election in November of next year.

That being the case, were I in his place, the calendar is one issue I would avoid like a plague, since a great deal of the current calendar flap is directly attributable to his “flip flopping” on the issue back in 2009, when he voted for the balanced calendar, though he ran, and was elected, on a promise to support a traditional calendar.