What happens if the budget is voted down?

As the dire circumstances in school districts throughout New York state have become clear over the past few months, parents and other residents have been put in a difficult position: forced to approve budget plans they abhor simply to avoid the even more tragic consequences of voting them down.

“How can we vote for this budget when we hate it?” a mother asked at a board meeting two weeks ago.

“Because voting it down would be an apocalypse,” responded Trustee Mary Clark.

As parents have heard bad news heaped upon bad news in budget work sessions lately, many have started to consider using the only ammunition they feel they have by voting down the budget. In Baldwin, the school board has been sympathetic to those feelings but has also stridently maintained that passing a budget — even one that is unpopular — would be the lesser of two evils.

In describing the perils of a budget rejection, the district has posted the following explanation on its website:

“If the budget fails twice, a school district is required by law to adopt a contingency budget, which would allow a zero percent increase. For Baldwin, that would mean an additional $2 million in reductions on top of the $4.7 million cut from the proposed budget. That would require the dissolution of some non-required programs, which may include athletics, music, fine arts, and/or drama. In addition, groups that use the school facilities and fields would no longer be permitted to do so.”

“Voting down the budget would destroy this school district,” O’Hagan said two weeks ago. The statement was met by groans from increasingly frustrated residents.