Sabotage!
POTTSTOWN, PA – File this in the Why Are We Not Surprised folder.
At last Thursday’s Pottstown School Board meeting, board member Thomas “Insolvency R Us” Hylton got on his soapbox to proclaim, on record, that he would not support the resolution to approve forward borrowing. Due to the absence of board member Robert Hartman, the resolution was tied 4-4 and the motion failed (but we can guarantee that the issue will come up for vote in the near future when a full board is present).
Unlike in past years when Hylton hid behind the curtain and attempted to control his minions’ talking points through glossy mailers and anonymous letter campaigns, this time he had to face the music (and the ire of fellow board members) in a public format on his questionable self-promoting positions on forward borrowing.
Today’s Mercury has all the juicy details on the latest chapter of Tom Hylton vs. Reality:
Vote to increase Pottstown school district’s borrowing limit fails
Isn’t it funny that today’s article on forward borrowing is on page A3…the page where Tom Hylton’s factually-challenged paid advertisements run?
So…let’s set the WABAC Machine (once again) to the pivotal year that was 2007.
As you old timers may (or may not) recall, 2007 was the year that Campaign Manager Hylton helped fund and manage (to the tune of almost $10,000) the spring campaign to unseat the five incumbent school board members with his hand-picked Neighborhood Schools Team.
As noted here in recent reader comments, in July of 2007 seven of the nine school board members chose not to take action on approving $13 million in forward borrowing, thus allowing the option to die.
Hylton’s Neighborhood Schools Team, during the primary campaign season of 2007, were publicly critical of forward borrowing, saying that school district borrowing should be at taxpayer discretion. And even more appalling, Hylton (along with his personal legal eagle Larry Sager) threatened to sue the school board if the forward borrowing resolution was allowed to die on the vine.
When asked about that 2007 instance by board member Polly Weand at Thursday night’s meeting and why Hylton was threatening to take legal action against the school board for allowing the forward borrowing option to die…but is now conveniently against forward borrowing when it may help fund the President’s Task Force recommendations…Hylton feebly replied, “I have no comment.” Hmmm. Goodness…it’s hard to keep tract of Tom Hylton’s flip-flopping over the years isn’t it?
And, similar to the forward borrowing resolution, Hylton’s legal bullying threat evaporated as well.
Why the history lesson?
Simple.
This year the President’s Task Force will most likely be sharing with the taxpayers of Pottstown the findings of their in-depth study of Pottstown school buildings. Depending upon their findings and recommendations, money will most likely be needed to implement their plan. As we’ve noted since the formation of the task force, Tom Hylton does not want it to succeed in dismantling his tax-bloated neighborhood schools pet project. The elimination of obtaining money through forward borrowing may severally impact the board’s ability to advance with any task force recommendations. Which is precisely what Tom Hylton wants.
If you’re a Pottstown taxpayer you should be outraged (but certainly not surprised) that Tom Hylton is trying to derail the President’s Task Force. Call a school board member today and tell them to vote FOR forward borrowing. Do not allow Tom Hylton to destroy any more progress for Pottstown. He has done enough damage to Pottstown’s progress in the past 35+ years.
The school district’s present forward borrowing is not intended to cause an increase in taxes. Forward borrowing allows the school board to have funds in place should the need arise for capital projects. It’s similar to having a line of credit and will aid the district in future attempts to improve facilities (but not in the band-aid fashion that Tom Hylton touts in his paid advertisements).
In contrast to what Tom Hylton wants folks to believe, forward borrowing is not a new loan. There are no immediate plans to spend this money.
What do we think of Tom Hylton’s latest scheme to promote his own self-interests and to attempt, once again, to halt much-needed progress for Pottstown?
You’re scheming on a thing…that’s sabotage!
PLEASE BE ADVISED:
Our present forward borrowing is not intended to cause an increase in taxes.
Forward borrowing allows the school board to have funds in place should the need arise for capital projects. It is like having a line of credit. It aids the district in future attempts to improve the facilities.
And this forward borrowing was actually put in place about 5 years ago. This is not a new loan which Mr. Hylton is trying to make the public believe. There are no immediate plans to spend this money. We have not even seen or made a decision on present capital projects being discussed largely by the President’s Task Force as they study the needs of the 5 elementary schools.
What I find extremely interesting is an incident that occurred in 2007! At that time the school board headed by Barry Robertson was perched to stop the very same forward borrowing funds as we speak of today and Mr. Hylton came with attorney Sager to sue the then seated board if they would STOP the forward borrowing. Mr. Hylton knew his newly elected neighborhood school team would need upwards of 38 million to refurbish the five schools when the new board was seated, so he had to have those funds and he couldn’t allow those forward borrowing funds to be dissolved. He threatened that board into keeping the funds. If the following year some of the neighborhood team hadn’t realized Mr. Hylton’s refurbishing of the 5 schools was going to send the town into extreme debt and high taxes, we would be in bankruptcy today.
Now Mr. Hylton must nix the forward borrowing because the plans of the Task Force may not be in agreement with his plan for the elementary school configuration. And of course if the capital funds in the forward borrowing are dissolved that ends the ability of the district to move ahead with buildings that would provide outstanding technology for our children to succeed in their education. And Mr. Hylton could still hope to accomplish his personal agenda and forward his fraudulent facts. For example, our present schools will not last another 20 years as Mr. Hylton says they will. And neither will 15 million put our schools back together again. Mr. Hylton’s plan to borrow 15 million last year would have been a bandaid with very expensive windows at the taxpayer’s expense. But Hylton was willing to waste taxpayer’s money for his personal agenda which did not include improvements for our students’ education.
Briefly this is what Mr. Hylton has done. He has allowed borrowing through the roof, if it fits into his agenda. If it was someone else’s plan, he terrorizes the taxpayers into believing the school board is spending outrageously at taxpayer’s expense. Mr. Hylton is once again in this mode, as it is campaign time____time to throw out boardmembers who won’t go along with his antics and personal agenda. He will work for the next months to bring on his new candidates who will follow his agenda like sheep and send the taxpayers of this town into total debt to accomplish Hylton’s personal agenda, which does not include moving ahead educationally.
Mr. Hylton, for his personal agenda, terrorized the people of this town when we had the opportunity to build a state of the art educational center. Now he is terrorizing the taxpayers of this town into believing that we are going to borrow and spend 50 million on refurbishing schools. None of this is true. What is truth—-Mr. Hylton is not allowing the school district to progress and give our students the best education they deserve.
Thank goodness for Polly Weand! If she hadn’t asked Tom Hylton that pointed question, The Mercury might never have reported on Hylton’s hypocracy. Now I’ll hold my breath while the editorial staff pens its pronouncement that allowing the forward borrowing resolution to expire would be tantamount to the board taking its marbles and going home like spoiled, nasty, selfish children.