May 18 has come and gone, and the voters who came out had something to say. After approving last year's budgets with relatively healthy margins despite facing record hikes in their tax burdens due to the county's reassessment, voters this year reminded school boards and, indirectly, their representatives in government, that voters are the ones with the final say.
Twenty-two of Nassau County's 46 school districts gave a failing grade to their budget proposals, including Sewanhaka and West Hempstead. Franklin Square's budget, despite falling well below the average tax hike for Long Island schools, passed by the thinnest of margins. The races for school board seats in Elmont, buoyed by the emergence of strong challengers, were all close.
Last year's votes were surprisingly easy by comparison, due in part to a mobilized effort to brace voters for the worst. That effort was not as organized this time around, and the results confirm that.
With inflation looming large and the cost of living spiraling out of control, school districts should expect more of the same in upcoming years. Education is not cheap, and results are expected. The same holds true for our officials in Hempstead, Mineola and, with the state budget now two months late, Albany.
Whatever words are exchanged regarding to why a budget failed, it should never be said that a vote against a budget is a vote against the children. It simply is not the truth. The school boards try their best to keep costs within the bounds of reason, but when members of the community fear for their own survival in the face of skyrocketing costs, they owe it to themselves to respond as they see fit.
School boards and budget votes remain the best and purest example of democracy. Politicians, especially those running this November, should take note of the uneasiness of those they represent. Long Island has steadily become a very expensive place to live and raise a family. All efforts must be made to find creative and inspired ways to keep the quality of life high without chasing away the people, especially senior citizens, who worked their entire lives here to make it that way.
