Archive: Opinions

'No Additional Taxes' says the Lansing School Board. Who do they think they're fooling? If there were really no 'additional' taxes, we wouldn't be voting on December 9th. It's $350,000 in additional taxes that will definitely show up on your tax bill.

Why is it being done this way? Because, whenever an old debt is finally paid off and the School Board is able to replace it with a new debt of the same size, they can claim that there are no additional taxes - just a never ending debt. They've created a money pit we can never climb out of - no matter how much money is poured into it, they will just add more new debt. This has become an all too familiar technique to enable spending more tax money than is ever agreed to in the budget.

And where is the notification of the upcoming vote posted? It's been headlined on the Lansing Central School District webpage for weeks, of course. The voting information streams directly through school channels, informing and encouraging the voters with the greatest self-interest in approving the latest spending opportunity. This control of information deliberately skews the voting process by prioritizing accessibility on the basis of a favorable demographic.

It's a method of notification that excludes the voters who are not tied directly into the Lansing School Distinct and its agenda, along with many of the rural poor and elderly who have no access to the Internet at all.

An additional edge is insured by having the vote actually take place in the school's own buildings. It's more than just an 'accidental' convenience for parents dropping off and picking up their children, it's like having the election vote in the campaign headquarters of one of the political parties - the psychological advantage is immense.

'We understand these are hard times' said Superintendent Pettograsso at a Town meeting only a few weeks before the scheduled vote to add more than one-third of a million dollars of additional debt on top of all the other school spending. This statement rings hollow. The new Capital Project gave the School Board yet another chance to reduce taxes, but instead they chose to increase the debt responsibility of Lansing residents. The 'hard times' we're having never seems to impact Lansing teachers' or administrators' lavish salaries and benefits, or sway Lansing school boards from adding every possible luxury and 'bling.' As the frustrated protagonist in the Australian movie 'The Castle' tells an oily town official, 'Would you stop pretending to be on my side!'

Has anybody received the rebate checks that the School Board promised in return for approving their latest budget increase? Once again, they come to us in denial, with obfuscations and sad tales of political realities to lay off the blame. Now, it seems it may be 'too much trouble' to fulfill the promises they made. If Ms. Pettograsso really understood how tough times were for many folks in Lansing, she'd know how much that $100 or $150 every year means in terms of heat, food and gasoline.

It's routine for the School Board to blow off its accountability, but they need to be careful this time. The budget vote was actually an Express Contract entered into by Lansing's voters in good faith. That this is a contractual agreement was implicit in the way it was presented to the voters, and it is further documented by Superintendant Pettograsso's statement that 'a number of our voters said the reason they said yes to the budget was because of the freeze and the rebate checks.' If this contract is not fulfilled, Lansing Schools could be subject to a legal action by its own taxpayers.

That would be an education.

Sincerely,

Doug Baird
Lansing, NY
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