Reply to How Come BOE Candidate Stephen Austin Won’t Say What His Employment Is??

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For me, the bottom line on Stephen Austin is that, until the boundary issue arose and raised concerns in his mind that his property value might decline and his kids might have to attend schools different than the ones he assumed they would attend, he did [b]absolutely nothing to help make county schools better.[/b] Nothing. Every other candidate for the At-Large seat has at least done SOMETHING to address issues/concerns in MCPS. His Facebook posts consistently show him to be a thin-skinned Johnny come lately who thinks simple questions about his touted financial expertise are just too personal and certainly not to be scrutinized by the voters he wants to represent. You want an independent audit of MCPS books? I am with you! You want an IG? I am with you. You want a guy who had no interest in anything MCPS just a few months ago? No thanks.[/quote]

So you're saying that demanding fiscal responsibility by MCPS won't make schools better?  Somehow I think that working as a BOE member to reduce fraud, waste and abuse is a great reason to run for the BOE.[/quote]

No, I’m not saying that at all. I absolutely want more oversight of MCPS. The BOE is completely outgunned by MCPS staff. The BOE rely far too much on what the MCPS staff tell them is so. As I said in the post, I welcome an audit and/or an independent IG. I just don’t trust a guy who talks about transparency, but is then not at all transparent about his own work history as a “finance guy.”

As for the issue of property values and kids attending local schools, Mr. Austin can’t have it both ways. He says he wants all kids to get a fair shot at a good education, but then doesn’t want to change the boundaries to make that more of a possibility. Let’s be honest here. The quality of the facilities and opportunities in MCPS is closely tied to zip codes and boundary lines. I think it is fair to say, given his own statements on the issue, that Mr. Austin bought his home expecting that his kids would go to certain schools. I think that expectation is shared by many in MoCo simply BECAUSE it has been about 40 years since the last systemwide boundary study was done. But, as with any house purchase, there are no guarantees on what could happen to increase or decrease value. According to public records, Mr. Austin’s house has appreciated nicely since he bought it. I think that’s great. But if it it dips a bit because of a boundary change, since he has been in the house for just a few years, I am quite certain it will rebound nicely over the remaining years of his note, assuming he went with a 15 or 30- year fixed. Perhaps he didn’t. Maybe he went with an ARM with a balloon payment. That’s riskier, of course, but he was a “hedge fund guy” so he is clearly not averse to risky investing.[/quote]

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