School Election Coming Up

by: huntsu

Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 08:14:01 AM EDT

This Tuesday we have an opportunity to vote on the largest budget in the state: schools. Schools take in a significant majority of the state's funding sources, including property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, fees, lottery revenue, etc. and we get a chance to vote on them.

But no one shows up.

We also get a chance to vote on the people who set these budgets, picking new members of our school board. Except that we often don't, with the same people running year after year and no one challenging them. We scream and yell and spend tens of thousands of dollars on council races that have manage budgets less than half the size of school budgets, but these school board races get no one filing to run and ... no one shows up.

We talk about how we need to move the school elections to primary day to make them more noticed, but is that really a solution? If folks can't get off their butts to vote for who educates our children, for how much we spend on that education, for how that education is provided, and for probably 50 percent or more of all state taxes they pay then what's the point?

I don't really mean this, but if they're not interested now with all that at stake simply because the election is in April, then do we want them voting at all?

I'm just frustrated that no one cares, that the polls are so quiet for these vitally important elections.

Are you gonna vote? Do you know who is running? How big the budget is? What programs are being cut, what programs are being added?

huntsu :: School Election Coming Up

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School Election Coming Up | 1 comments

I took an Interest, but I need Partners (0.00 / 0)

You are right, Council elections are more contested with less money at stake. But having the school Referendum in the 2007 General exposed it to the general discontent over budgets and contributed to the defeat of the RVRHS "astro turf" budget.
Had it been held in a separate election it probably would have passed.
These school boards are used to no oversight from the people and it was a great surprise to them. They did no outreach to residents about their budget...but this time we received a slickly produced card about the referendum, which is all about the basics this time - no fancy sport facilities in time of fiscal emergency.
But there is no reliable way for me to confirm whether the redesigned referendum is bloated or not. To confirm that the details of the school budget are on the up and up I would have to make school business a part time job.. and that is a tall order.
Who will get the contract? Is their competitive bidding? It the money they allocated bloated? I dont know.
I took and interest, but it would really take a team of people to do proper oversight. I need partners. Nick Sodano, Mt. Holly

by: nsodano @ Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 09:44:44 AM CDT