I wish this guy was MY School Superintendent

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Have surplus? Superintendent will scavenge
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Five pickups, some hauling 16-foot trailers, pulled alongside the Federal Building, downtown, blocking the left lane of the entire block. The convoy was a red flag in this post 9/11 climate.

Four security guards, one with his gun drawn, raced toward the vehicles, demanding that the trailers be opened.

The prime suspect? Clermont Northeastern School Superintendent Neil Leist and his posse of high-class Dumpster divers. Security didn't get the memo that they would be there to collect the entire contents of the FBI's ninth floor - items that outlived their usefulness for the agency, but worth the price of gold to a cash-strapped rural school district.

In fact, Leist has saved the 1,800-student district hundreds of thousands of dollars by rounding up more than a $1 million worth of high-quality used furniture, computers, kitchen equipment and more from businesses and government agencies.

"It's had a huge impact," said Mike Freeman, a Clermont Northeastern School Board member. "Put in his words, it's stretching taxpayers' dollars. He's very good at bagging."

Leist's office is a testimonial to his prowess as a scavenger hunter:

-His desk came from the FBI.

-His computer is from the closed Ford plant at Batavia.

-Filing cabinets and a conference table were removed from an Ohio Department of Education office that had closed.

-Chairs and the pictures on the wall were donated by 3M, which shut down recently in Union Township.

He manages to get these items by offering to take everything and move it, saving companies and agencies thousands of dollars in fees to hire trucking firms to haul the equipment away. It also gives businesses a tax break. Now, when some of these entities have excess property, they call him first.

The initiative began about three years ago, after Leist was named superintendent in April 2007. The district was struggling financially, so tough times called for thinking outside the box to stretch the district's $16.5 million budget.
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The school board here in Wake County NC just asked for a $750 million bond, and they got it passed. [we pronounce that name like the waves behind a boat normally, but it's pronounced 'WACKY', when referring to the school board] Those of us who fought it said it was too much and that they'd just ask for more later, instead of being made resposible for what they already had. Before the first payment was ever made from that bond, they indeed asked for ANOTHER BOND of $400 million.
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Evidently people are smarter in OH than they are here.
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Overtaxed Schteveo
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