Watson fires back at Kirk and Thompson for attack ads

By ADAM TAYLOR
KnoxPages Managing Editor

MOUNT VERNON – Incumbent Mount Vernon City School Board candidate Ian Watson fired back today at opponents Robert Kirk and Steve Thompson for attack ads which accuse current board members of inexperience and mismanagement. 

The latest ads, both in radio and print, are entitled the "ABCs of Financial Disaster" and make a myriad of allegations about the school board’s handling of financial and business affairs. Watson said he’s "personally insulted" by the advertisements which claim that he, and school board member Steve Hughes, don’t have any business or administrative experience.

Pointing to his education and background, Watson argues that Kirk and Thompson’s claims couldn’t be further from the truth. A retired banker of more than 35 years, Watson has a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance.

In the ads and literature, Thompson promotes his own tenure as an executive vice president at Ariel Corp as the business experience that sets him apart from other candidates.

"I’m not convinced his experience at Ariel, though I’m sure good, is any more or less valuable than my 35 years at First-Knox," said Watson, adding that he can find no record or mention of Thompson’s post-secondary education.

One of the most powerful claims by the Kirk/Thompson joint campaign is that the current school board’s decisions have created a $3 million future deficit. Thompson defends this claim as having come from a financial forecast published in a Mount Vernon City School District newsletter.

Watson acknowledged that taking the report for face value might create that impression, but further investigation is needed to arrive at an accurate figure. Thompson tried to determine the amount of shortfall last year with numbers that were being presented for a different purpose, he said.

"I would think an experienced businessman would have wondered, ‘I see encumbrances at year end, but no encumbrances at prior year end. Did they change accounting methods this past year or are last years encumbrances handled differently for reporting purposes?’"

The prior year encumbrances were included in the previous year’s expenditures, Watson said, but had already been considered for reporting purposes as an expense in the prior year. That means Thompson "double counted," using two years of encumbrances for one fiscal year.

The potential shortfall, according to Watson, is 33 percent less than Thompson claims.

"He is reporting the shortfall as being 33 percent higher due to either his overconfidence in his own ability or his lack of humility in reaching a conclusion," Watson said. "Or perhaps he’s acting presidential, as we’ve seen in the past, by thinking that if you say something enough times, people will believe it."

Kirk and Thompson’s inaccuracies extend beyond words, Watson said. Both have incorrectly reported campaign contributions. Records show Kirk accepted checks from corporate donors.

In Ohio, it is an unclassified misdemeanor for a candidate to accept checks from a corporation. Kirk acknowledged the donations in a voicemail message left over the weekend, saying he unwittingly accepted the money and would return it.

As of yesterday, his campaign reports reflected no changes.

"They (Kirk and Thompson) each selected their treasurers. If they can’t provide fiscal management for their own campaigns, should we expect improvement if they’re elected?" asked Watson.

Despite the propensity for a shortfall in the future, Watson said the Mount Vernon City School District will begin the year with a cash surplus of $6.5 million.