Williamson County Director of Schools Mike Looney signed a letter sent to Williamson County voters by Citizens for School Funding, a political action committee supporting the proposed sales tax increase on the ballot in the county today its supporters say is necessary to fund increased construction of Williamson County Public Schools.
The proposal, widely panned by limited government conservatives, is the only issue on the ballot, and has a chance of passing primarily because its supporters have orchestrated the vote to take place in the dead of winter.
In the letter, which is clearly intended to support the sales tax increase, Looney advances the fiction that he is not taking a position on today’s vote:
My position does not allow me to advocate for-or-against the election, but I can confirm WCS currently lacks the funding needed to build additional classrooms needed for students. More specifically, we need to build schools and upgrade some of our older campuses.
Please use your voice to help our elected officials best determine how to provide for the school district’s needs. Time is of the essence. As always, if you have questions about our schools feel free to contact me at 615-293-0997.
Presumably, both Dr. Looney and Citizens for School Funding have run this mailing by their attorneys and have received the green light indicating that Looney’s language “threads the needle” sufficiently so as not to be in violation of either election law or his employment contract.
A challenge to the legal status of the communication, may still be forthcoming, sources tell The Tennessee Star.
As The Star reported previously, turnout during early voting, which ended on February 1 was low, with barely 6,000 of the county’s estimated 130,000 registered voters casting their ballot. Residents of Fairview are not eligible to vote in this election, as they already have the highest maximum sales tax allowed by law.
You can read the full letter, signed by Dr. Looney, here:
It is stunning that Looney, once again, sticks his nose into an election and presumably gets away with it. Also, why are citizens so apathetic that they won’t even show up to vote against higher taxes?