The Carpinteria School Board Debacle

The Angry Poodle Barbecue column “Stupidity Strikes Again in Cannabis Cash Wars” decries the optics of the now-infamous photograph of school Superintendent Diana Rigby and several school principals posing in a marijuana greenhouse, but stops short of condemning the serious ethical issues of Carpinteria’s School Board accepting a $189,000 donation from pot growers.

I am grateful that someone finally pointed out that several
reporters for Carpinteria’s local newspaper, the Coastal View, which published the photo, receive income from the
cannabis industry; this should have been disclosed given what was essentially a
cannabis marketing piece with a photo-op.

But contrary to what the writer suggests, rules and ethics
matter, particularly when it comes to our school children. This is not a
situation where it is acceptable to “take the money and run” as Nick Welsh
suggests in the spirit of pragmatism. As the daughter of a public school
teacher, I know that all schools could use more money, and the temptation to
take donations from wherever you can get them is strong, but attributed gifts
and donations to schools send a message to children. This is why Carpinteria
Unified School District’s own Policy Manual presciently proscribes (as is the
case across the public school system) that “the Board shall ensure that
acceptance of the gift, grant or bequest does not promote the use of violence,
drugs, tobacco or alcohol…”