Christie Wood (RE: Poll: Trustees should been there): Elected officials are asked to attend many functions in their official role. Sometimes it can be a bit expensive for a volunteer board and that does matter. It is nice if the School District can build a few events into the Board Budget. Boards are often reluctant to have much of a budget for themselves since it is all taxpayer dollars. I think if you are in an unpaid position and there is an expectation for you to attend many civic events there should be some consideration for that in the budget. The events can be limited by Board policy, or budget but they still should have some financial support. The hard part is choosing which events. Board members can always contribute an additional private donation if they so desire.

Question: Christie makes a good point. I'm sure elected officials are asked to attend various events staged by constituents. All. The. Time. Anyone mind if a school board, for example, sets aside a few bucks to help trustees underwrite appearances? Also wouldn't it be wise to divvy up important events among 5 trustees, to make sure there's a board presence at the important ones?

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