As Mr. Millot said, at least I’m honest.
That’s why I’m going to take you into the voting booth with me. Not literally, but here’s an outline of what I’m going to do - and why - in about 30 minutes.
No on the budget.
The increase is a modest one - 2.6% in the budget, 4.2% for the tax levy. The budget, however, is poorly-conceived; I tend not to approve suboptimal budgets. None are perfect, but this district has a long way to go.
The budget takes no steps toward aligning fiscal responsibility with declining enrollment. The budget also does not address the glaring [and ever-widening] achievement gap between the poorer, largely rural students in the district and the rest.
It’s difficult to vote against any school funding issue - I doubt that I’m in the minority when I say that - but giving a thumbs-up to an irresponsible budget does harm.
Two board candidate votes, not three.
We’ve got a bit of a muddy situation here - my next podcast will address it in full. We have three open slots: two 3-year full terms and one 1-year interim term. There are three candidates. The top two vote-getters will assume the full terms, the third place finisher will assume the interim term.
Place our situation within the words of that most astute political philosopher Meatloaf, who advised:
“Don’t be sad / ’cause two out of three ain’t bad”
… and you’ll see why I’m voting for only two candidates.
Dr. Borgstrom appears to be an intelligent, informed, conscientious candidate. He deserves a full term. Dr. Russo, though less palatable to me, should be adequate, and will receive my other vote. I look forward to the service of both on the school board and I’m excited by their potential.
Incumbent Tony Scalici, however, will not receive my vote. By voting only for two candidates, I am implicitly voting for Mr. Scalici to assume the 1-year interim term. He simply won’t have a vote from me that will count toward gaining a full term. The list of reasons is long; from his stance ~10 years ago that the district might not want to devote resources to a website because, “How do we know that the internet is not just a fad?” to the second reason put forth in “Two Reasons Why This Website Exists: A NYSED Folly and Cooperstown Perversity.”
There ya go, and congratulations in advance to all three candidates.
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