The Vote for the Levies

That deadline for that vote is now a little more than 36 hours away.  Frankly, I doubt there are that many undecided votes out there.  (I think no matter the outcome, the voting patterns will be interesting to watch as they may be an early warning for the Board elections in November.)

No matter the vote, we do need to pull together as a district.  The unity of purpose of parents is just as important as it is for the Board or district staff.   Parents and communities ARE the best voice for our district.

I think the discussion around the interim plan for next year has been interesting to view because it shows the need to find regional solutions.  To that end I would hope that PTA presidents in each of the five regions (or however many people feel is important) would join together to work for solutions.  (I know that most of the PTA presidents in the NE did indeed meet but unfortunately, it did not include all of them and decisions were made after some had left.  Clearly, there would need to be structure in such a regional group so that no one school or area could dominate.)

But having regional groups would certainly help to provide information that could then be disseminated out to the schools in the group.  It would help inform Board decisions and influence what staff might suggest/direct.  It would make parents a stronger voice in our district.

This, of course, is NOT to create a situation of pitting region against region but to help the district see an overall picture while keeping regional issues in mind.

I honestly believe both levies will pass.  That certainly is the historical trend.  

If not, I hope those who are voting no have a solution beyond a mere vote.  It would be helpful if those who are unhappy have some sort of answer for what they perceive should happen if one or both levies fail.

If Operations goes down, I would believe the Board/district would go straight to the Legislature for help.   Or they could sit back, starting planning the next levy election and allow parents and community to see exactly what losing 25% of the budget looks and feels like.

If BEX goes down, all capital planning stops.  Any architectural planning, permitting, etc. stops.  Otherwise, we will cut into the remaining money in BEX III and BTA III and those dollars are already committed.  There will be fewer mitigation dollars for schools who need help next year.   The district would probably scale back BEX with fewer projects since the organized efforts against BEX have been about BEX projects (not other issues).

But anyone thinking that this will create chaos and overhaul the leadership would be wrong.  Levies (of other types and school levies in other districts) fail all the time and you don't see massive leadership changes happen.  We have a good Superintendent and lead staff and they, consulting with the Board, will make the appropriate decisions.  Anyone who views this as some kind of opportunity for a takeover/shift of leadership by outside entities would be wrong.