Today should have been the School vote, but we have been too busy panicking the past few months. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson for the next panic, perhaps not.
Instead we have a Public Budget Hearing next week, on May 26. As with the past few Board meetings, this will be online. Although they appear to be adjusting to allow public comments, which will be interesting to watch.
By decree of the governor, the actual election is being conducted by absentee ballot. While these ballots should start arriving before too long, Gene (Superintendent) suggests anyone that doesn’t receive one by June 2 to email HFL20.21Elections@hflcsd.org. That same email can be used if you received one, but need more for the number of voters in your household. The ballots must be returned to the school by June 9. Dropping them in the mail should be the easiest method, but I have heard there will be a collection box near the district office at 20 Church Street.
Should the number of people to vote be comparable to past years, then the election results will likely be available the evening of June 9th. If the number is closer to the number of ballots mailed out, then it may take a few days to count them all.
This year there are 6 candidates for 3 seats on the Board itself. And, in the interests of full disclosure, I am one of them. As such, I feel it would be inappropriate to offer any advice on who to vote for, or why one candidate is better then another. Go read their published bio’s or look up additional information elsewhere.
I will say that the candidates appear to be listed in order by length of time served on this Board. Which is to say, the first three (Me, Kelli, and Jeff) have no time on the Board. Chris has a few months, as he is fulfilling the remainder of Larry’s term. While Caralyn and Amy have been on the board for a number of years, Amy the longer of the two.
They are also sorted by time since they were last on the Program Budget Advisory Council, the schools public budget committee. Again, the first three were on this years PBAC. Chris was too, but joined the Board right before the PBAC finished for the year. I know Caralyn, and am reasonably certain Amy, was on the PBAC in years past. Which does show a trend, if not a requirement. Time on the PBAC provides information on the District and how the Board operates. Both being useful for prospective Board members. Perhaps even the public at large.
And coincidentally enough, this listing also has the candidates in alphabetical order by last name.
Besides the Board of Education members, this vote includes three propositions.
The first of those is for next years budget, which is ~$53 million. As in past years, I acknowledge the budget is as good as it can practically be at this point. Yet I usually vote against it. I’m still pondering if the current panic upsets the cart enough that I should change my mind.
The second proposition is for ~$0.6 million for school buses. As usual, the verbiage is required by the state and does suggest debt. As explained at Board meetings, this would be paid for without debt. Much as it has been for the past few years, as part of the bus replacement schedule. Unless you think we can completely retool for online school in the next year or so, continuing the replacement schedule makes financial sense. Which is why I’m planning to vote yes on this one.
The third (and last) proposition is for energy improvements with a total value of ~$2.4 million. This project is being marketed as having zero ($0) effective cost, due to cost savings through improved efficiency. The ideas in this project have been tossed around for a while, with past conclusions being along the lines of ‘the numbers don’t add up yet’. If they do now, then it’s a good idea to do. If it can be without any impact on the taxpayers, including not having to pull from a reserve fund, then all the better. While I expect to vote yes on this, I think we should plan as if we will have to foot this cost. There has been enough craziness of late, it seems prudent not to put faith in a cost of zero. If you plan for the worst, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with anything else.
As with all elections, do your research and decide for yourself. Then get your ballot back before the clock runs out.