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In the wake of the 1995 defeat of a proposed sales tax for school construction, a Leadership Pasco class decided to study the Pasco School District with an eye toward trying to improve the district's efficiency and to help burnish the public image of schools.
The project, though, never came to fruition, in part because an extensive public briefing between those community leaders and school officials revealed there were few areas within the district that needed significant improvement.
Nine years later, after the passage of the Penny for Pasco sales tax referendum, citizen input is again being sought.
But this time it is the district that wants the oversight.
Ray Gadd, the district's point man on the sales tax debate, said a top priority is to fulfill a campaign promise to form an independent oversight committee to ensure new tax funds are spent appropriately by the district.
The committee likely would include people with expertise in finance or construction, but individuals with employment ties to the district should be excluded, School Board member Marg Whaley said.
It is sound thinking. One of the most repeated statements throughout the sales tax debate was the need for greater accountability. That is what the district is offering - effectively welcoming a watchdog panel into its operations.
Don't be surprised if there is a construction glitch or two along the way. Such are the expectations of large capital construction programs.
Building the county's library system after the 1986 voter approval of the bond issue to finance it is a good example.
The Regency Park branch opened a year later than expected after the county had to replace the contractor who left the structure half finished. And many of the branch buildings cost more than budgeted because the architect designed them 20 percent bigger than anticipated, a gaffe blamed on miscommunication about usable space within the structure.
The citizens oversight committee, incidentally, is likely to be involved only in the school district's $145.5-million construction program from its sales tax proceeds. Pasco County has indicated no desire to form a similar group, though the environmental preservation effort also will be driven by a citizens committee.
Whether it is done by a citizens panel or by the electorate overseeing commissioners, accountability will be key to overcoming skeptics questioning local government and school district spending. But it is a public demand that should extend beyond the campaign season. Public participation during annual budget hearings for the county and the district is dismal, and that is the most appropriate time to scrutinize government spending.
The outcome of last week's election, with just less than 52 percent of the voters endorsing the sales tax increase to 7 cents on the dollar, has brought suggestions that the tax is ripe for a repeal. Such thinking is far-fetched and counterproductive.
Besides, here's a list of candidates whose pluralities, on a percentage basis, were smaller than Penny for Pasco's: President George W. Bush's 2000 win in Florida; Sheriff Bob White's victory over Lee Cannon the same year; Rep. Heather Fiorentino's initial election to the state Legislature in 1998; and Commissioner Steve Simon's defeat of Ed Collins, also in 1998. How come nobody called for a mulligan on those close elections?
It is time to move forward, and those seeking increased participation should welcome the school district's oversight committee on Penny for Pasco spending.