At a Board of Education meeting some time ago, a retired attorney and community activist by the name of John Brant complained of the administration's misuse of the "School Report" - a district newsletter - to mislead and intimidate. He took particular exception to the unfounded conclusions, by then Superintendent Mary Barter, that austerity has a negative effect on real estate values. When pressed for a source for her opinion, Brant was told that it was derived by those writing the article... experts all.
Implied was that folks, like ourselves - you now, mere mortals, should think hard and long before voting down a school budget because it's developed by E X P E R T S.

We are forever asked to ignore the fact that it was "experts" that designed and built the Titanic. And, that when a budget supported by such expert committee logic fails, it is the SUPERINTENDENT that is responsible.

A superintendent should NEVER, ever propose a budget likely to fail. To do so is a blaring indication that the administrator is NOT in touch with the feelings of the community's voting majority.

The Administration, per directive-after-directive page of Board of Education rules, speaks of a desire for community, individual and organizational input when designing matters of import to Three Village Central School District residents:

• The Superintendent of Administration designs a budget - allegedly giving weight to community proposals - and submits it to the Board.
• The Board of Education, given the same mandate in its rules as that demanded of the Administrator, votes to accept or reject the proposed budget, each relying in part upon their perception of the Superintendent's good faith efforts at meeting community objectives. Ultimately:
• The resultant budget is submitted to the community for consumption or rejection, a process known in some circles as the "Eat it or face the consequences" method of public administration.

When voted down, the negative impacts of a failed budget proposal are NOT the community's fault. The voting public would not vote down what it wanted. If administrators and boards fail to obtain or respond to majority opinion that failure is NOT the public's but that of the elitist prigs who "know what is good for YOU" and design their proposals accordingly.

Dr. James Lewis Jr., lauded by Harvard as a top educator and author of thirty-three books on the subject, is someone that has functioned as a school administrator in three states, including work on Long Island. During an interview, published by the New York Times, Dr. Lewis explained that,

"Whenever a budget goes down, it is the superintendent's fault. But superintendents don't think that. They think it is the community. They don't understand that they are the servant. They serve the... public."

So, think about this. When a budget goes down during the reign of any superintendent, whose fault will it be? Well, without the least bit of hesitation, we think the name of the District Superintendent should immediately come to mind. How 'bout you?
[ For an elaboration of the role a Superintendent plays in all manner of things in a School District, see:
Public Administrators: Mixed Blessings and Personal Agendas. ]