With the state-wide school budget vote scheduled for tomorrow, many New Yorkers might be asking themselves if it really matters whether they vote. In response, Broadalbin-Perth Central School District offers the following three reasons:
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Yes, your vote really does matter.
In many general elections, the pool of eligible voters is so large that it might seem like one individual vote wouldn’t really make a difference in the outcome of the election.
On the local level, however, decisions are made by a much smaller group of residents, which means each vote carries more weight – and even more so when voter turnout is low, as historically has been the case in New York State. In general, only 10-15 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots on the school budget. In many districts, there are fewer votes cast than there are students attending the schools.
If you think your vote doesn’t matter, consider this: In 2008, the fate of Broadalbin-Perth’s budget was decided by just two votes.
- School budget votes are your only opportunity to have a direct say in how your tax dollars are spent.
As Americans, we pay taxes to support the operations of government agencies at all levels: Federal, state and local. In most cases, our only opportunity to decide how our tax dollars are spent is through electing representatives whose ideas align with our personal values. Those representatives, in turn, make the final decisions about budget expenditures each year.
This is not the case when it comes to public schools. Although residents do choose representatives to govern the local school district – your Board of Education members – those board members do not have final say on how much money the school district can spend. That responsibility is in your hands: On May 18, it’s up to you to decide if the Board of Education’s recommended spending plan is what you want for Broadalbin-Perth schools.
- This is the community’s school – it’s up to you to decide its future.
The Broadalbin-Perth Central Schools belong to you, the residents of the community. In rural areas like ours, the schools are often the center of community life, providing learning opportunities outside the regular school day for students and sponsoring activities that attract residents of all ages, such as athletic events, concerts, plays and exhibits. Since the school district plays such an important role in the life of community members, it’s only fitting that residents have a say in the future of their school district.
In a recent article in the Albany Times-Union, Tim Kremer, the executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, was quoted as saying, “[Schools] have [your] money, [your] kids and [they] know where you live. It just doesn’t get any more personal, local or passionate than those issues.”