Rich Nafziger, local blogger, is resigning from the city council (so says that smarty pants over at 5/17). In addition to being the fighting moderate chair of the Olympia School Board, Rich has also held several positions in the state leg.

His most recent one is a conflict of interest with his elected one. Money over service this time fellows.

He hasn't blogged about his decisision to quit the board, but we can read his greatest hits.

From immediatly after the election last year, What's Next for the Olympia School Board? (who knew it was him quiting?):

Jeff Nejedly and Lucy Gentry Meltzer were recruited and supported by school board members Russ Lehman and Bob Shirley. They argued that the board and the district were mediocre and needed a radical overhaul to get the job done.

Populist appeals only work when voters are unhappy, and it pretty clear that their campaigns failed largely because most parents and community members are pretty happy with their schools. (See my previous blog, Make the Best Better)

 And, my personal favorite, Burning Down the House (our house is burning down):

 ...if you ask Board directors Russ Lehman, and Bob Shirley, and their candidates for the school board Jeff Nejedly and Lucy Meltzer, they will tell you that the district is mediocre at best. They argue that voters should give them a majority and then heads will roll and the district will move forward to excellence.

I worry that if they gain a majority on the board, the Olympia School Board will become the Seattle School Board. A board that is infamous for its negativism, political correctness and disdain for the teachers and other employees of their district.

It is no secret that teachers and other employees in the district try to avoid speaking to the School Board out of fear of the cross-examination attorneys Lehman and Shirley regularly use to attempt to embarrass the district. Beyond that, they have voted against a resolution supporting a simple majority for school levies, refused to support competitive salaries for principals, voted against extending the contract for the Superintendent and voted against the district budget without offering an alternative.

I'll miss Rich and his blogging the school board. It was fun.