By Anthony Rifilato
, and the number of younger voters - even those with children in the schools - is even smaller, according to a new study released by the Baldwin Educational Assembly.
Only 11 percent of registered voters took part in the school budget and school board elections last year, and the study showed that only 4 percent of registered voters 35 or younger actually voted. One of the main reasons for last year's voter apathy: Not enough information.
"Younger voters aren't voting, even the ones with children in school," said Joel Peskoff, chairman of the BEA. "They need to be energized. There might be a disconnect between the information that comes out, which is supposed to get people to vote."
The study was a year in the making, and the results were released to the media this month. The BEA, whose aim is to strengthen relations between the Board of Education and the community, was commissioned by the board to conduct the study after the school budget passed by only a handful of votes last year, a slim margin that sparked alarm among school officials.
"We were committed to try to hear from the community as to why the vote was so close," school board Vice President James Scannell told the Herald last month. "We're using that feedback and doing a lot more community outreach. I'm really proud that we commissioned this study."
The BEA based its results on data obtained from the Nassau County Board of Elections. Of the 20,000 people eligible to vote in the Baldwin School District, Peskoff said, the study revealed that only 2,500 actually voted last year.
"What it showed was who votes and who doesn't," Peskoff said. "What we found is that people who vote are the elderly, and they vote in greater proportion to those who are younger."
Of those over age of 45, 15.5 percent voted last year, while 10 percent of those between ages 35 and 45 cast votes. Sixty-one percent of those over age 60 who voted opposed the budget, while 60 percent of those between ages 46 and 60 supported it. "I thought the study was very revealing, especially since there was such low voter turnout based on age," board member B.A. Schoen said.
Since 1996, there has been a decline in the number of residents voting in school elections, Superintendent Dr. Robert Britto said. That year, 3,153 people voted just on the budget, while last year, only 2,317 people did so. This year, however, the number of voters who focused exclusively on the budget ticked upward, to 3,015, which Britto attributed in part to last year's slim margin.
"In the last six years there's been a slight decrease in the number of people voting," Britto said. "This year, I think people realized, 'I got to get out there and vote.' This has been the highest turnout in the last three years."
The BEA also conducted a survey of those who voted, as well as 1,000 randomly selected residents who were registered but didn't vote, asking questions ranging from how they feel about taxes to the way the school district disseminates budget information. The survey showed that the main reason for voting against the budget was what respondents said are high property and school taxes, and not, as some school officials initially believed, teacher and administrative salaries. Salaries for all employees in the district account for just over $60 million of the 2007-08 budget.
While some residents and candidates for the school board called for a cap on teachers' salaries this year, the study showed that most voters believed teachers are paid fairly, and the issue did not make a difference in how they voted.
Peskoff and others said the survey also dispelled the myth that distance to the polling booths at Baldwin High School dissuades some residents from voting, and that the addition of a second polling place was not necessary. "This study dispelled a lot of theories and assumptions," Peskoff said. "We initially thought people who voted were biased toward living near the high school, since it's easier to vote across the street. But if you had to take a 20-minute drive, they may say, 'It's not worth my time.' We found that 11 percent of people voted no matter how far they live."
Only 44 respondents answered the question, "If you did not vote, why not?" Respondents said the main reason was not enough information about the budget, and that mailings disseminated by the district such as the Baldwin Beat are not effective in communicating budget issues.
Peskoff explained that the BEA made a number of recommendations to the board based on the results of the study, and was scheduled to give a public presentation on its findings on May 21 at the BEA's general meeting at Baldwin High. The recommendations ranged from revamping the Baldwin Beat to explaining details in the budget such as teachers' salaries, suggestions that school officials had already begun to act on.
"The message was consistent, and boiled down to making us as transparent as possible," Britto said. "The majority of people realized that the proposed budget was conservative and responsible."
The group also said that more needs to be done to get out the vote, and recommended that the board better explain the consequences of a failed school budget and how programs would be cut if the district were forced to go on contingency.
"The board seemed extremely impressed with the amount of data in the study," Peskoff said. "Our job is to give the board the research. Now it's up to the board to address those problems."
Scannell said he believed more needed to be done to communicate budget information in the run-up to school elections. This year, the school board and administrators held additional workshops and budget hearings in an attempt to inform residents, Scannell said.
"Even people who voted yes [last year] still feel they need more information about what the budget is funding so they can feel confident about their vote," Scannell said. "That's absolutely what we're trying to do by reaching out to more people."
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
