The Editorial Board of the Bakersfield Californian, anticipating a very busy upcoming political season, must have started interviewing early to avoid a last minute rush. Apparently, they have already chosen to recommend a candidate for the Bakersfield City School District Board of Education. Why else would they have chosen to print the Community Voice article penned by Mr. Don Vereen in Saturday’s paper?

If you missed it, here is a summary:

In the first three paragraphs, Mr. Vereen campaigns for office. He lists all of the things he has done in the past seventeen months in preparation for having to actually seek the votes of the public. He uses the word “I” six times. The only words missing are “Vote for me.”

Next two paragraphs - he praises the Stand Strong Academy, which, although touted to be a good program, is primarily funded by the Stand Strong Foundation, Inc. and therefore is not dependent upon the budget of the BCSD. Although in the next two paragraphs, he attempts to imply that it is.

Finally comes the theme paragraph. He thinks it would be a good idea for the governor to cut other areas instead of education. Wow! An afflatus! Why didn’t anyone else come up with that?

But then, in the rest of the letter he proposes his ill-conceived plan. Based on “interviewing several prison staff nurses,” (How he got from providing vital services to the school district to talking to prison nurses, I’ve no idea) he determined that prisoners are “enjoying” too many benefits, especially free health care. I wonder if in doing his probing and extensive research on this topic, Mr. Vereen came across the fact that one state prison inmate dies each week due to poor or untimely medical care? Anyway, he proposes taking the funds for all of those prison perks and giving those savings to the schools.

I know hard times call for hard decisions but that’s absurd. Budget cuts are being made “across the board” and that includes funding for prisons. To think that there is a funding panacea for education hidden somewhere in the state budget is inane and naïve.

To emphasize their selection of Mr. Vereen, the editors then print in bold italics that “Don Vereen is an elected Bakersfield City School District trustee.”

Perhaps a review of past events would serve to refresh the memory of the Californian’s editors.

Word on the street is that Mr. Vereen is being groomed for a run at Irma Carson’s City Council Seat. In light of the fact that the BCSD School Board has always been a springboard for higher office, that scenario is not far-fetched.