34

opinion

Hfaid 4 lantern 8 April OT

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A Courageous Stand Taken

On Bar Hours

By Bill Richter It was indeed a pleasure to see the both of you vote for the continuation of present Lower Township bar hours. It took extreme courage for both of you to take the bull by the horns and come up with a fair decision. I realize that no decision is easy to make when you are surrounded by individuals whose manners could only be rivaled by a sty full of pigs. It is also no pleasure to be continually harrassed by individuals who are out to make a future political name for themselves. WHILE IT IS CERTAIN that some residents are sincere in their views, it is also certain that some of them just like to hear themselves talk. The euphoric feeling that generally follows the applause only prompts these individuals to want more and more. Members of Lower Township Committee have continuously been accused of arriving at a decision before the issues have been discussed. I am sorry to say that some of our residents are guilty of this very charge. IT IS THOROUGHLY DISGUSTING to have those onesided petitions shoved into your face before the issues are discussed or debated. I feel that the application of "common sense,” and a willingness to “sit down and listen” to all sides of an issue, are necessary to arrive at a fair decision. Once again, I congratulate Committee Members (Page 35 Please)

There Was an Election Ttiesday—Honest!

School district elections are over for another year, the annual votes having taken place on Tuesday. While this writing preceded the election outcomes, we nevertheless fe$l comfortable, albeit dismayed, making these predictions : • Once attain, voter turnout will have been relatively light, certainly nowhere the number of voters who go to the polls for the general or even municipal elections. This disinterest has alwavs been puzzling, given the amount of tax dollars that most school districts cofnmand to operate their schools. In certain districts, in fact, the cost of paying for education is more than the cost of local government. • Some school district tax levies will be voted down. This has aspects which are almost expected on one hand, and surprising on the other. It’s not surprising that many voters vent their frustrations over the escalating cost of living thru the annual school vote because it’s their only chance to actually vote against taxation. This is due to the great inequity between school district elections and most others. Does the voter have an opportunity to vote on how much his or her taxes will be to run the nation, state, county and local government? NO. Does the voter have that opportunity when it comes to school taxes? YES.

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This disparity is unfortunate and cries for correction. Why should state law allow a situation which, in effect, places less trust in a certain class of elected officials, i.e., school board members? All other elected — even most appointed — officeholders are entrusted with thb power to raise revenue thru general taxation without having to gain voter approval at the polls. School board members stand for election and then every year of their three-year term the budget they help put together is, in effect, voted on by the electorate. It’s as if the legislature intended a double standard; on one hand trusting one clas$‘Of officeholders with the purse strings, but not the other — school board members. (Another disparity between school board members as a class and other officeholders is their remuneration. School board members [et absolutely nothing for their service, while ' ose who serve local government receive either a token amount or a salary which is fairly substantial, depending upon the time and effort they devote to the task. Apparently the legislature believes board members — who may be partially responsible for a multimillion dollar school district — aren’t worth their salt!) The main reason it's surprising some school budgets are defeated is because there are usually sufficient parents with children in the system to all but assure tax levy approval at the polls. It’s assumed that it is primarily older voters on fixed incomes with little if any vested interest in the educational systems who vote down school budgets — probably because (as we mentioned earlier) it's a way of having some say in setting taxes. Of course, there may be some parents who view schools as overly expensive baby sitting services who would be inclined to vote down school tax levies. But one would assume since the parents have more at stake in school systems, that they would be more willing to at least go to the polls on election day. © Some school board candidates elected Tuesday will assume office with an incorrect attitude of their authority and responsibility. One of the most abused on the Code of Ethics of School Board Members is the one that states that board members as individuals have no authority; that only when acting as a whole school board do their opinions and decisions have weight.

In reality, on some boards a few members attempt to take over and run the show with little or no regard for others on the board, the professional administrators and staff, or the public. As one would expect, this often results in pet projects receiving emphasis at the expense of the overall best possible education for all students. It’s surprising how many board meetings one can attend without hearing the word pupil or students ever mentioned. When it comes to making policy, establishing programs, negotiating with staff members, etc. — every action taken by a school board (and, hence, the individual board members) must be from the perspective of what’s best for the students in terms of the funds available. The final prediction about this year’s school district elections has nothing to do with the elections, other than that it is a reality that took place before the elections and will, undoubtedly, continue afterwards — unfortunately: © Few citizens attend school board meetings. This is both the biggest surprise of all and the root cause of a lot of the ifls besetting too many educational systems and districts today. Despite the fact that school boards are dealing with the future of our children and grandchildren, dealing with hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars of our tax dollars, are steeped in political intrigues and maneuvering the same as other governing bodies — despite all of these facts, very few citizens come out to the monthly meetings of the Board of Education.

Until more citizens and taxpayers take a continuing, active interest in school systems thru their presence and voice at monthly school board meetings, all of the inequities, all of the irregularities mentioned and hinted here will surely continue. Viewed in its proper persniriye, education is a continuous, lifelong puMU As we grow older, our learning needs may be less formal but certainly no less important. At the same time, we — as mature adults — must never lose sight of the need to provide a strong foundation on which our younger citizens, may build for a future which is productive for them as individuals and fruitful for us as a community and society.

The Herald & Lantern