Elected school board vote had predictable outcome

May 08, 2008 10:44 am

— Voters have overwhelmingly — but not surprisingly — approved an elected school board for the Middlebury Community Schools district.
The outcome parallels the process to add an elected school board for Goshen Community Schools 16 years ago.
In 1992, Goshen voters also had two plans for elected school board members, with a similar concern expressed by advocates that it would split the votes and not create a majority.
However, like Middlebury, both elected school board plans for Goshen received more votes than the status quo appointed proposal.
If votes for the two 1992 Goshen election plans are tallied together, 6,131 voters opted for an elected school board or 76.7 percent of the 7,991 who voted on the referendum.
In Middlebury, 3,741 of 4,611 voters chose an elected school board plan, 81 percent of the total vote. This suggests that elected school boards are very popular with voters.
There is a more direct relationship between board members and the electorate, although in Goshen’s case the school board continues to function in much the same manner as before.
However, Goshen board members are very sensitive regarding taxpayer expenditures, with a citizen’s advisory committee exhaustively exploring the current building proposal before board members took action.
Middlebury’s last building project was a very expensive undertaking, and this may have been the final straw that prodded citizens to seek an elected board.
There is some reluctance to push educators into a system that requires a popular vote to select board members. But politics has gotten a bad reputation. The democratic system reflects government by the people, which can be messy and inefficient, but it also gives a voice to taxpayers who fund education.
With millions of dollars of public money devoted each year to education, it is not surprising taxpayers want to have the option of directly influencing how the money is spent.