Letter to the editor: Show up at the polls for Newfield school vote

To the Editor:

I encourage all Newfield School District residents to vote on the new budget proposal June 18 from noon to 9 p.m. in the lower elementary school gym; or by absentee ballot before then. We have influence, power, and access with respect to school governance. Any resident can readily address problems with school staff, administrators and the board of education, and suggest any solution, and they welcome it.

Governing authority comes from referendums including the annual budget vote, elections, and appointments by elected officials; for government to function, we all need to vote. Newfield Central School District is a great context to experience democracy –  just community people, no parties, and no odd legislative rules. We get to decide how much to spend for education of our children and how much to tax ourselves for it. We are suited for this, as we have nearly all attended public school, know what it can be like, and have ideas about how it should be. We all want this central part of life and community to be as good as possible for the young ones who will in time be doing all the work, and running things. Schools need our informed judgment.

Before the vote, Newfield’s Board of Education mailed us plenty of information and made it available at newfieldschools.org. They held 4 meetings to discuss the budget and other propositions.  They made it easy to be informed. 

Then, 6 out of 7 of the 3,500 registered voters in the school district, including a majority of schoolchildren’s parents, didn’t vote. The 248 people who voted for the budget could just as well have been 2,480.  We abandoned our communal responsibility and let a small fraction of voters – one in 13 (266 people) – derail the well-developed, tightly knit plans of school and board.

A contingency budget would cut programs and activities, reduce adult supervision (and risk more antisocial behavior going undetected), and hobble progress that school and board hope to make, so their revised budget eliminates just one position. The tax levy increase is well below the rate of inflation.

A 15% turnout for school votes is considered “high”. Why do we routinely give up control of our community? I write this on D-Day, which marks the sacrifices made to overturn established tyranny. It is also exactly 250 years ago when American colonists were vigorously discussing what they should do to stop the British from taking away their rights and democratic ways. They soon pledged their “lives and fortunes”, took control of the colonies, fought to keep control, and established the liberty, rights, and democratic power to make decisions that we now enjoy; let’s all make good use of these.

Tim Lillard

Newfield