COMMENTARY
Bruce Andriatch: Leaving little to chance on school budget votes
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In 2004, then-Newfane School Superintendent James N. Mills came very close to revealing the truth about what goes on every May across New York.
The question was about the concerts and art shows and chicken barbecues and other parent magnets that often are scheduled on the same day as public voting on the budget.
“I think there’s a general assumption made on the part of school district personnel and educational leaders that parents are probably school supporters,” he said. “If we conveniently get them there, it will enhance the opportunity for the budget to pass.”
“If we conveniently get them there . . .” This was the same year that Williamsville voters were “conveniently” provided Krispy Kreme doughnuts via a fundraiser held at the polling place. How are you going to say no to the budget after saying yes to a school district- facilitated doughnut?
The doughnut idea probably was overkill in Williamsville, as it would be in any affluent suburban districts where voters historically embrace the chance to tell the school board how to spend their money. But it speaks to how far the boards are willing to go to attract the likely yes votes and avoid pesky budget defeats.
If the districts are this desperate when times are good—relatively speaking— try to imagine what they will do to attract as many yes votes as they can in 2011, when the state’s fiscal meltdown could mean drastic service cutbacks or double-digit tax increases. Forget doughnuts; it might take a seven-course meal to get a budget passed next year.
But if you happen to live in Holland, don’t expect to be fed or entertained.
Last month, the School Board passed a resolution prohibiting any kind of school activity to be held in conjunction with the budget vote. Board member Larry Krzeminski introduced the resolution, citing safety and traffic concerns.
“We had kids running in and out of the traffic area where the cars were parking,” he said of the 2009 vote. “It was a pretty unsafe situation.”
The jumble of cars on budget day also has been known to keep some voters away. Older voters, in particular, often complain that they don’t feel comfortable trying to navigate through the lot.
Krzeminski said that he wasn’t setting out to attract more voters but that it would be fine if that happened.
The people who object to the new policy have called it a brazen attempt to manipulate the vote, saying that it will now be more difficult to get parents of young children to cast ballots. (It’s worth wondering whether the authors of this argument felt that the doughnut promotion constituted manipulation.)
The deck is already heavily stacked in favor of budget passage on Election Day. Educated voters know that most school spending is guaranteed and that the few areas that a budget rejection would affect tend to hurt students most of all. They also know that a defeated budget often carries the same tax and spending rate increase as a passed budget.
Hence, predictable results. Not one budget was defeated in Erie and Niagara counties last year. Statewide for the 2009-10 school year, more than 97 percent of the budgets passed.
Maybe all those yes votes are a sign that voters are pleased with their schools. If that’s the case, a few more votes from nonparents shouldn’t be such a concern.
School boards exist to make sure that children get a proper education and that taxpayer money is protected. They should also be in the business of making it easier for all the people to be heard, even when what they want to say is no.
bandriatch@buffnews.com
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