03/18/2024
Friends of Fields Files Demand Letter to Mill Valley School District to Suspend Expenditure of Measure G Funds
Editorial | February 6, 2024 | https://marinpost.org
Excerpt: Friends of Fields (“FOF”) has submitted a "Demand of Friends of Fields For Emergency Meeting Of Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (the "CBOC" ) To Verify Bond Funds Are Being Used As Intended, Appointment Of Independent Counsel And Report To The Public" letter to the CBOC and the Mill Valley School District Board, invoking the CBOC’s oversight and accountability authority over the expenditure of Measure G funds.
This is in response to the Mill Valley School District's (MVSD) proposal to build a new Mill Valley Middle School on Friends Field at the Mill Valley Community Center. ...
Among other things, the FOF letter to MVSD states:
"In view of the nature and gravity of the issues raised by this Demand, the Mill Valley School District (“School District'') should refrain from interfering with the CBOC’s ability to ensure that Measure G funds are expended only for their intended purposes. FOF hereby demands that the School District suspend all actions related to the expenditure of Measure G funds, including but not limited to, entering into contracts, approving proposals or taking any other actions involving Measure G funds for sixty days to afford the CBOC an adequate opportunity to verify that funds are being used for their intended purpose."
Excerpts from Demand Letter:
DEMAND OF FRIENDS OF FIELDS FOR EMERGENCY MEETING OF CBOC TO VERIFY BOND FUNDS ARE BEING USED AS INTENDED, APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT COUNSEL AND REPORT TO THE PUBLIC ...
The School District is also currently considering a proposal to construct a new middle school on Friends Field. The approval of this proposal would necessarily authorize the expenditure of Measure G bond funds to implement the District’s repudiation of its dedication of Friends Field to recreational use. The funds would also be used to pay for the destruction of Friends Field and the athletic facilities installed there as permanent additions. These facilities have been maintained, repaired and upgraded by the City of Mill Valley for decades at the cost of millions of taxpayer dollars. The voters never remotely contemplated and did not approve the expenditure of Measure G funds in a manner that would destroy Mill Valley’s premier and largest sports and recreational venue ...
All of the available evidence conclusively demonstrates that the intended use of Measure G bond funds was for repairs and upgrades at all six schools. It did not include (a) the expenditure of all or almost all of the funds at a single school; (b) the expenditure of funds to support the School District’s repudiation of its agreement to dedicate Friends Field for recreational use; or (c) the expenditure of funds to destroy Friends Field. All such uses are impermissible ...
CONCLUSION
The School District has proposed spending $194 million in bond funds in ways that were never intended, contemplated or approved by the voters, including enabling the wholesale destruction of beloved Friends Field. The CBOC is the body entrusted with the responsibility of providing the promised oversight and accountability for the expenditure of Measure G bond funds. It must intervene on an expedited basis to protect the public, to “verify that the funds are being spent only for authorized purposes” and to forestall a financial misadventure of monumental proportions
For the reasons stated above, the CBOC should set an Emergency Meeting to verify Measure G funds are being used as intended, appoint independent counsel and report to the public. ...
PDF of Demand Letter:
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/themarinpost/doc/9128/FOF-Demand-Letter-to-CBOC.pdf
To read complete article visit: https://marinpost.org/blog/2024/2/6/friends-of-fields-files-demand-letter-to-mvsd-to-suspend-expenditure-of-measure-g-funds
Friends of Fields (“FOF”) has submitted a "Demand of Friends of Fields For Emergency Meeting Of Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (the ...
