No cell phone. No laptop.

This morning's Tennessean article regarding 'benefits' offered to MNPS school board members is a bit out of date regarding my situation.

1. I don't have a MNPS or Metro issued cell phone. The one I have is one I've had for some time. I pay by the minute and use it for staying in contact with my family. It costs about $10 a month as a result of careful use. Reporters have asked for the number and they've been disappointed. At some point I may upgrade all the way to a Cricket but until then folks will just have to dial my regular land line or e-mail me. That first week our home phone was completely overrun with incoming calls so that it was hard for us to even use it and I thought that perhaps a cell phone for MNPS business might be a good idea, but I've reconsidered.

2. One of my first conversations with the staff at the BOE was in regard to equipment I might need to stay in touch with the Board and staff. I was asked if I needed a fax machine, a cell phone a second phone line. My response was no, no and no. And then I jokingly responded "But if you've got a spare laptop lying around..." I was told they'd check. I was surprised that the use of a laptop was even a possibility and I made it absolutely clear that only if the laptop wasn't needed by anyone else in the system would I accept it.

Since that initial conversation and a conversation with the Board Chair on 5/23/06 I decided that I'll not ask MNPS to supply any of those resources. It seems the cleanest way to operate and doesn't require any of my time or the staff's in accounting for their use, upgrade or, heaven forbid, their loss or damage.

So that's no cell phone, no laptop, no second phone line, no fax machine for BOE member Kay Brooks. I do have the packet regarding health insurance and am reviewing that. I've not yet signed up.

UPDATE: I kept thinking that we'd been round this bush before. The Tennessean's archives was useless but I've discovered through the Public Library's Tennessean archive that reporter Tanya Ballard did at least one article about all this back on February 15, 1998. Unfortunately, I'm not able to get the archives to cough up the actual article. Maybe someone else can.