Chad Frey

I feel that USD 440 Administration and the School Board have lied to the Citizens in the Halstead-Bentley School District.To get the recent $28.5 MILLION Bond Issue approved by Voters, it was stated and promised that the previous $10.5 MILLION Bond Issue would be retired and paid off early.The Board has decided that it will not retire the previous Bond.It appears the District Administration and School Board are not going to do what they previously promised in order to Pass The Bond.Would there have been a 31 Vote Difference in Favor of the 2024 Bond Issue if Voters had known they’d be on the hook for TWO Bonds instead of one?Either we’re to believe that nobody in the Administration or Board had competently considered this idea prior to pushing $28.5 Million in new debt for Private Sector TaxPAYERS to pay for.Or......They had considered this idea prior to pushing that $28.5 Million in new debt for the Private Sector TaxPAYERS to pay for, and intentionally deceived Voters and TaxPAYERS with the promise that the former $10.5 Million Bond would be paid off before incurring $28.5 Million in NEW debt in order to get the New Bond Issue Passed.So it appears to be either incompetence or deceit.It appears that by the actions of the USD 440 Board and Administration, that for at least 4 years, TaxPAYERS are financially responsible for not one, but TWO School Bonds.Either way, Halstead-Bentley USD 440 Voter/TaxPAYERS are stuck with paying the Bill and I for one am left wondering what additional surprises are going to be in store for us to pay the bills for.-- Kevin Henderson, Halstead

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