Re-Elect Anne Hannon to School Board

With three bright, capable people running for one seat on the Board of Education, we almost wish this were a school board expansion rather than an election. But our choice is the incumbent trustee, Anne Hannon.

All three candidates have unique qualifications to recommend them. Gregory McGlynn is energetic and well-informed, has original ideas and is himself a product of Baldwin’s schools. Laura Williams has covered education in the region for two newspapers, worked with politicians extensively and clearly has an interest in the issues confronting our schools. In our view, however, Baldwin’s current school board is one of the most successful in Nassau County — if not New York state — and there seems to be no reason to elect someone new to it.

Facing what is widely acknowledged to be the bleakest financial scenario in years, Hannon and her fellow board members have crafted a budget proposal that maintains program and recommends cuts that, while painful, seem impossible to avoid. She has also played a leading role in the effort to prepare the schools for the introduction of a tax cap in 2012, which could be nothing less than a budgetary nightmare. It makes the most sense to re-elect Hannon so she can help shape and refine the contingencies she helped devise.

Obviously, if we allowed every elected official to see every program he or she proposes through to completion, no new voices would ever be heard. There are times when an injection of fresh perspective is exactly what a school board needs to spur it on to greater effectiveness. But this is not one of those times. The schools in our community are under direct threat of being financially ravaged. Hannon has been not just an asset but a leader in thus far keeping massive cuts at bay. She should be allowed to continue that work.

All too seldom in an election do voters have a chance to choose the best of the best rather than the best of a mediocre field of candidates. Baldwin residents will have that opportunity on Tuesday. There is no bad choice, but the best choice is to re-elect Hannon.