Valley Central School Bribes Kids in School Budget Vote and Board Election

At Valley Central School in Montgomery, NY, VC Elementary students took a special interest in last week’s budget vote. No, the civics education in the Valley Central third grade isn’t exemplary; the District just decided to bribe the schoolchildren with free homework passes [photo from recordonline.com] if they got their parents to vote, reports the Times-Herald Record.

Students at two Valley Central elementary schools were offered special coupons to entice their parents to vote on the district’s nearly $77 million 2007-08 budget yesterday. Ian’s third-grade class at Walden Elementary got “one-half off homework” coupons. If someone in his household voted, he [Ian] could redeem the pass and finish only part of an assignment. If both parents voted, he’d get two homework deals.

Ian implored his mother. “Mom, could you please go tomorrow? Pleeease.”

Let’s hope that little Ian doesn’t come from a broken home. It would be a shame to deny him a free pass because his voters weren’t together anymore. And, of course, by voters, I mean “parents.”

Ms. Drury, Ian’s mother, wasn’t impressed:

“It was like they were using him as a pawn,” she said. “I equate this to the tactics of a Happy Meal.” (When kids beg their parents to take them to McDonald’s for the toy that comes along with the cheeseburger and fries.) “It’s the same manipulative tactic,” she said. “And I’m not a Happy Meal Mom.”

She voted on Tuesday, but she didn’t drop off the homework coupon at the voting table. Not all parents were as responsible as Ms. Drury; the Times-Record stated that:

By 3:30 yesterday afternoon, the coupon bucket of homework waivers was piled high.

One can assume that the “coupon bucket” got so full because parents also filled it with their discarded scruples. Valley Central Superintendent Dr. Richard Hooley doesn’t see any problem with voting-for-homework:

Valley Central Superintendent Richard Hooley did not think the district had broken any election laws. “I believe this was one of the many efforts that we use to encourage people to come out and vote,” he said.

Dr. Hooley needs to think again. Encouraging voting by a demographic that historically supports District proposals, though arguably unethical, is one thing; using children as pawns in local politics is another. The message that Dr. Hooley has sent to his students and community is that votes can be bought and that honorable values like fairness are subject to ebb and flow. Whether out of ignorance, oversight or malice, no matter – District officials should be ashamed of themselves. Maybe an indictment is premature – was this one in a series of efforts to bring voters to the polls?

“They haven’t offered any inducement to any other segment of the community,” said local civil rights attorney Helen Ullrich, who was contacted yesterday by an angry Valley Central voter.

Voters have 30 days from the date of the violation to file a complaint with the Department of Education – I will be surprised if no one files papers. The burden of proof to throw out an election generally requires that the offense committed changed the outcome of the vote/election, including sworn affidavits from voters who can testify that the action swayed their vote. The tally shows 1,396 yeas [65.4%] vs. 736 nays [34.5%], so the District may get away with this one. Regardless of how a challenge turns out, the District should take the proactive approach and apologize fully, admitting their mistake sooner rather than later. That gesture will carry far more weight than a seemingly-forced apology after a challenge.

Today’s RecordOnline featured an editorial opinion that’s worth reading in full [and not just because the RO agrees with me]. They close powerfully with this paragraph, picking up after a brief description of the appeal process:

Let’s hope somebody does [complain to the State Ed. Dept.]. And let’s hope that the punishment involves an apology from the superintendent and anybody else involved in this misguided effort so that the children learn the lesson that bribery, no matter how you disguise it, is not acceptable.

I’ll make sure to follow this one.