Vote FOR the 4, Vote FOR the Budget

We’ve been asked by many people how we recommend they vote on the Budget and various propositions that are also on Tuesday’s ballot.

We suggest voting FOR the Budget, which comes with a promise – but not a guarantee – of a 0% tax levy increase. The current School Board was fortunate to have several teachers retire this year, and had a late increase in State Aid; the Board decided to pass these savings back to the taxpayers. Were this budget to be voted down, the District would be forced to enact a contingency budget, which would stifle all purchase of new equipment, the cancellation of field trips etc. And it would also create a painful and divisive headache across the district just as we hope to start the process of moving forward in cross-district unison. Voting for the budget does NOT mean you are voting for the Grades 5-8 Middle School plan, or for the vast sums of money that the Board needs to implement it. These are policy decisions that we trust our candidates will be able to overturn when they are elected. So even as you vote Lines 2-5 for us four candidates, we recommend you also vote FOR the budget.

As regards the four propositions, we do not have one unified opinion on them. In part, this is because we were not part of the Board (and therefore the discussion) that developed them. We invite voters to learn more about each of these issues, either via the current edition of the Onteora Schools newsletter, or by talking to neighbors and other would-be voters. Again, none of them relate to the current Board's plans for a Grades 5-8 Middle School and the immediate closure of an elementary, nor the Bond costs they would need to raise. We will note that the same Woodstock Times editorial that endorsed the four of us candidates also expressed support for all four propositions. And we would also say that if you feel you are not suitably informed on these issues, you do not have to cast a vote on them.

Thank you to all the voters who have expressed so much interest in all these issues. This campaign has shown just how much people care about their schools.