Mr. Behne’s Response to the First of Our Questions to the 2024 BOE Candidates
I support open government, especially with an institution as important as our School District. Our schools represent our largest investment as a community and our greatest source of hope for our children’s future.
Important decisions need to be transparent and informed by the community.
I support allowing anyone who requests this information to access public documents.
I have requested basic information under OPRA and experienced unnecessary red tape and denials for information that should be readily available without the need to ask for it.
For example, we have a non-binding referendum on the ballot for the turf field, but the public is denied information on the specifics.
Gutting OPRA was not reforming or modernizing it; it’s making it possible for those who want less transparency and more secrecy to make decisions that suit their agenda, special interests, and donors without fear of consequences.
Our District has taken essential steps to improve transparency, and these efforts have a razor-thin margin on the BOE. The public needs to understand that improving transparency is not a “special interest” – it is a public interest.
Observe those who have remained silent on the reforms or criticized OPRA – the decisions they’ve supported and special interests that have supported them- and ask yourself whether their agenda is in your best interest.
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