We feel certain the Lake City Council wrongly giving away $30,000 in gun-violence prevention funds to the Columbia County School District to help with an elementary school move this summer was done with the best intentions.
It was done without much thought and very hastily, but without malice. At first glance, school district officials immediately staged a meeting and started planning to allocate the funds they gladly accepted. Public schools never met a donation they didn’t love and embrace. No harm or ill will there, either.
Both sides had the best intentions.
What neither remembered until this newspaper — your community newspaper — pointed out publicly, is that none of the money being tossed around so carelessly belonged to either entity. It was the people’s money. It is your money still.
In the city’s case, those tax dollars the city was giving away is tax money city residents and businesses paid. Those same individuals paid school district taxes, as well. Both the city and the school district are dependent taxing authorities. There is nothing illegal with one assisting the other and it happens, usually in times of mutual aid need or emergency situations, but this was neither. This was a good deed gone bad idea.
And, for city councilors to vote unanimously to give $30,000 from the Mariah Fund which is a gun-violence prevention program intended to keep children safe from being shot in the street, then try to justify it by saying students moving to a new school is equally traumatic is borderline shameful.
The stand-up guy who gets the gold star in this saga is Superintendent Lex Carswell. After reading our opinion on the matter last weekend and being reminded the two entities have their own tax money and separate bank accounts, Carswell did the right thing and politely declined the $30,000 from the city, citing it wasn’t the proper use of city taxpayer funds that were earmarked to curb gun violence in the streets of Lake City.
Carswell plans to retire at the end of his term, so he is not pandering for re-election. He is listening to his conscious, his morals and his character. He is not trying to get re-elected. He did the right thing based on principle and at this moment in history, at any political level, this is a rare thing to see a leader admit he was wrong, correct his mistake publicly and move forward.
Carswell deserves a salute and our community’s respect for stepping up and we are giving it to him today for this move. This is an example we hope others can learn from and grow in their roles.