Archive: Opinions

Next Tuesday's school district vote is a curious combination of propositions.  Two school board seats are up for grabs, but there is only one candidate.  A budget proposal is structured to keep the same tax rate, meaning that if all else is equal property owners will pay the same as last year.  A second resolution would allow voter registration any school day.  The third asks voters to decide whether to abolish the public library.

On the face of it the ballot is straightforward, but the issues are intertwined.  The apparent lack of controversy about the school budget and voter registration propositions are seen by some as a threat to the library.  But for some reason nobody is talking about the potential for disaster with only one candidate running when there are two vacant school board seats.  A single write-in vote has the potential to turn the board in the wrong direction, that vote being the reflection of an individual rather than the Lansing community at large.

The theory is that if there is low voter turnout it is bad for the library.  High turnout is good.  The confusing wording of the library proposal, mandated by State law, is also seen as a threat.  'No' means you favor continuing the library, 'yes' means you want it abolished.

The voter registration proposition is pure housekeeping.  Currently the school district has to provide an employee on specified days when voters can register on the school campus.  That means a lot of sitting around on the chance that someone will want to register.  If passed the new proposition will allow voters to go to the district office on any school day and register with the district clerk, who is free to go about her usual business the rest of the time.

The budget is a mixed bag, but generally uncontroversial.  Only a few months ago it looked like the district would have to cut $1.2 million from a budget that suffered about the same in cuts last year.  Jobs and programs were on the line.  But after a careful review of school monies, changes in the interpretation of State laws and mandates, and federal stimulus money, only $326,532 was cut, producing a budget that most stakeholders are happy with.  On top of that the proposed tax rate will be the same as last year.  That means that if your house was not reassessed this year -- and relatively few in Lansing were -- you will pay exactly what you paid in school taxes last year.

But that is deceiving.  First of all, last year's reassessment did not go well for about a third of Lansing taxpayers, who found themselves saddled with a considerably higher tax bill than in the previous year.  Secondly the revocation of the STAR property tax rebate means all Lansing property owners will be paying more.

Governor Patterson says that the STAR rebate, which returned about $1.4 billion to property taxpayers statewide last year, was a 'canard,' a political gimmick that had no significant value.  But a budget fraught with new taxes and no significant reduction in spending is not encouraging to property taxpayers in a time when money is scarce and layoffs in Lansing have already taken a significant toll.  Lansing's State Senator Michael Nozzolio has called for reinstatement of the STAR rebate, but the chances of that happening are bleak.

While it has not generated a lot of interest, the school board vote is as controversial as the library proposition, but for unexpected reasons.  Sandi Dhimitri and Anne Drake's seats on the board are up for grabs, but nobody is grabbing.  Drake, who has served for about nine years so far, is running for another term.  But she is the only one running.

"If there are not enough candidates for the vacancies the person who gets the most write-in ballots wins," says School Business Administrator Mary June King.  "If no one fills the seat after the election the Board may call a special election within 90 days of that newly defined vacancy.  Or they may also appoint a qualified person in the Central School District."

The benefit of having multiple candidates is that voters get a chance to consider their qualifications and how they stand on the issues.  With the teetering economy it is more important than ever that the school board balance the quality of education and programs with what Lansing taxpayers can or cannot afford.  Theoretically a write-in candidate could win with only one vote, not a reflection of the community at large.  For good or bad, the community is stuck with that person for three years.

They say that if you don't vote you get the government you deserve.  By the numbers the school board vote could cost taxpayers a lot more than the library ever could.  Public apathy could be a disaster for future school budgets as much as for the continuing existance of the library.  There is a lot more at stake than it appears. 

Will Lansing voters weigh in on these important issues?  We'll know on Tuesday.

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