Tomorrow New York State school districts have their annual
school budget vote and school board member elections.
For every district in the state (except the Big Five cities),
the vote is the culmination of each district’s planning process and the means
for the community to select the people who will make district policy and other decisions
on behalf of their communities. The
budget proposal is the end result of months of study and discussion but it
cannot be finalized until the community passes judgment on the work through
their votes.
Sadly, typically only five to ten percent of the eligible citizens
vote on their school budgets. Lots of
people don’t notice or even forget the vote is happening. School elections are non-partisan; board
members are unpaid; and board service is not perceived as a stepping stone to
other political positions. All of this
means that school board budget votes and board elections are not accompanied by
the high-profile media onslaught that characterizes elections for other levels
of government.
Ideally citizens should be able to act without constant communications
prodding them to vote. People should note
the district newsletters and calendars that announce the date of the vote, and
then make casting a ballot a priority.
If you live in a district with a budget vote tomorrow, find the time to vote. Read your district’s budget newsletter (generally available online if you misplaced yours) and the statements of the people running for the board of education. And then, as an informed citizen, vote.
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