WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE? I went to the Cleveland School Board meeting tonight to watch them take the first step in the campaign to pass an operating levy in May, i.e. they passed a resolution listing the next round of cuts that will happen if a tax increase doesn't. Among the highlights:

... fourteen schools closed next year
... $10 million in security cuts
... $8 million worth of additional layoffs
... more cuts in arts, transportation, college counseling, extracurriculars and
... cuts in varsity sports (so long Tarblooders?)

So there we were in the School District Board room, with big decisions being made about the financial future of a critical public system, a crowd of citizens worried about it, and lots of speechmaking that could only be called political. Democracy in action, right?

Except... there wasn't a single elected official in the room.