Archive: Opinions

EditorialThere has been a lot of talk over the past year or more about property taxes being out of control.  Some people have been very outspoken, others have gone on the offensive, and voters have defeated initiatives and threatened to defeat others.  People are concerned about fiscal irresponsibility and what they say are unnecessary projects proposed at taxpayers' expense.

For a time it wasn't clear whether the Board Of Education was getting this message.  Last year they proposed a budget that would have increased the school tax 7.73%.  The voters said no.  They came back with a budget that represented an increase of 6.79%.  This was reluctantly passed.  But was it enough?

I think that budget was a major factor in the failure of the capital project proposal.  It gave the appearance of a school board that was asking for money and more money and more money.  It did not say, 'We'll be frugal for a few years so that we can get this capital project passed.'  It did not give people confidence that the Board wouldn't do the same thing again.

Now, it isn't so much an 'us versus them' situation as it is an 'us versus us' scenario.  It's our school district, and we decide how much or how little to do with it.  The Board Of Education is supposed to be a representation of us, and if that were precisely so there would never be any failed votes, because what they want would be what the voters want.

That is all theoretical, and being on the school board means being closer to the situation and seeing what our kids need up close.  It is hard to set limits or say no.  But one could wish that the Board would be more proactive and less reactive.  On budgets, on building maintenance, on cohesive, comprehensive long term planning...

There have been some noises that indicate that school administrators have been paying attention.  Superintendent Mark Lewis said many times in school board meetings that while they were hearing 'we need this' and 'we need that' in their own meetings that he was hearing 'we're paying too much' and 'we can't afford it in others such as the Facilities Committee meetings.

And this month Business Administrator Larry Lawrence strongly recommended holding the budget to the level that the State would enforce if next May's budget vote were to fail.  He cut the contemplated increase for next year basically in half, saying that he didn't think voters would pass anything higher.

Even so, some school board members expressed alarm at the things he took out.  It brought back memories of last year's budget meetings in which they said keep the budget down to X.  The Superintendent and Business Administrator came back with a budget at X, but the Board said, oh put this back in, put that back in.  And come back again with X.  The administrators did that at least four times.  They were unable to keep it to X, which may have been too high in the first place.  And the results were disastrous when the voters said no.

We have all been faced with these kinds of decisions: if I spend X dollars on an energy efficient water heater now I will save Y dollars over Z years.  That will pay for the cost of the water heater, which will be free after Z.  But that is only a good idea if I have X dollars now.  It's always cheaper to buy in bulk, but sometimes you can only afford to buy a few things at a time.  

It is easy to watch these proceedings and throw rocks, and it is important to remember that our school board members are unpaid volunteers who are deeply engaged in making our district as good as it can be.  They spend an enormous amount of time doing what might as well be a second full-time job.  They are also taxpayers so they do put their money where their mouths are.  But they are also elected officials, and it is important to be in synch with the people who do the electing.

That is a two way street.  Last time two incumbents ran uncontested.  Nobody stepped up to challenge the status quo, so it sent the message that the status quo was OK with the voters.  And communication is a two-way street.  After electing a representative it is important to talk to them to tell them what you are thinking.  It is not fair to expect them to guess.  Being a psychic is not a requirement for being a school board member.  Voters do get what they deserve.

I think the failed school votes are lowering the chances of other initiatives passing.  For example, my opinion is that the library charter is worthwhile, responsible, inexpensive, and a very good value.  But in this atmosphere of failed tax votes it is going to be much more of an uphill climb to get it passed than it otherwise would have been.

A member of my family from out of state called last week and said he had read the Star.  He commented 'People in your town want everything, but they don't want to pay for it.'  It got me to thinking that maybe we have to decide what we really want and concentrate on that.  Lawrence is attempting to start with an amount, and figure out what we really want (and what we really need).  It would be great to have everything, but I think he is on to something, especially now in Lansing.

----
v3i11