Time and a Place

This frustrates me.

Following the rejection of a 12.1 percent increase in the property tax levy at Monday’s annual meeting, the School Board and district administrators will re-examine the proposed $66.5 million budget for the 2009-2010 school year, looking for ways to reduce it.

   “The decisions will be wildly unpopular,” Herdrich wrote in an e-mail received by the Daily News Tuesday. “The final decisions will have lasting impact on the students, families and the homeowners we serve.

   “We take that responsibility very seriously and understand the full impact of the decisions on the students.”

   “We are absolutely going to present to the community what taking $2.4 million out of the budget of one of the lowest spending districts in the state will mean,” said Board President Joe Carlson.

I understand that managing a budget in this economy is hard, but stop whining and get it done!  For example, when my employer was setting budgets last year, I spent my time crafting my portion of it and arguing for the resources I thought I needed.  At the end of the day with the economy how it was, my budget was lower than I had hoped.  But my directive from higher up was to get the job done with what I had.  The time for debate was over and it was time for me to do my job with the hand I was dealt. 

In this case, the employer - the citizens - have made it clear that the district needs to work within their current funding level.  Joe and Pat need to understand the will of their employers and show leadership in implementing the directive.  The budget may be “wildly unpopular” to some folks, but clearly that’s what the folks who pay the bills want to happen.  It’s not Pat and Joe’s school system.  It’s all of ours.  Pat and Joe need to demonstrate to their employers that they can intelligently manage their budget to continue to achieve great results within the confines of the budget they have.  If they can’t get the job done, then the community needs to find someone who will.