Friday, September 5, 2008

School board will consider going after firm over CDO losses

An attorney for the district is currently reviewing the contract with the law firm, and the board is expected to decide at an 8 p.m. special meeting at the Educational Support Center, 3600 52nd St.

Pam Stevens, board president, said the meeting won't be open to public comments.

District representatives earlier said they were duped into the investment after saying for months that it was safe and would pay out at full value by 2013. Officials said Stifel Nicolaus & Co., Inc., the district's financial adviser David Noack, and the Royal Bank of Canada Ltd., could be part of any potential lawsuit. WHICH REPRESENTATIVE WAS DUPED?

Kurt Kromm, who was at last week's regular school board meeting to make a public records request regarding the CDO, said when he asked for information earlier, he was referred to the public relations firm, but didn't receive an answer. Carl Bryan, 18, who unsuccessfully ran for school board in April, said he, too, was referred to the PR firm and didn't get a response."My response to that is it's my job to deal with the media, and any individual responses should be directed to elected officials," Peterson said. Stevens said she spoke with Kromm and Bryan privately after the school board meeting about the CDO, but the board and administrators believed the PR firm was answering all questions."(We were) under the impression that all questions should be directed to the PR firm," she said. "We are clarifying that, but I don't have a problem with taxpayers calling me and asking me questions."

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Despite insisting the investment was sound, e-mails released by Kenosha Unified under a public records request indicate officials knew it was in trouble more than a year ago, when the district's new financial adviser firm, Robert W. Baird & Co., wanted to trade out downgraded assets in the CDO.

Didn't they just recently say all was well? Wasn't Hujik saying it was like a house that lost value on paper but you didn't lose if you didn't have to sell, and then it would come back? They lied!

Anonymous said...

Insanity is re-electing the same people over and over again, and expecting a different result.
Can you say change?