Scaring The Public, “101”
School districts across the state are all preparing their budgets for the 2010/2011 school year by turning to a familiar play from a familiar playbook. In government parlance, it’s known as the Washington Monument game. The analogy harkens back to a time when Congress threatened to cut the National Park Service, and so the Park Service responded by saying, “that’s no problem, Congress. We’ll just have to shut down the Washington Monument.” Cue the outrage from the public.
The same is happening in Idaho’s public schools. “Unless we raise taxes,” school trustees and administrators claim, “we will certainly have to cut some programs.” But not just any programs. They claim the first programs that must go are the ones that are the most popular: Athletics and music.
Never do you read about the many, many other possibilities to save some money. Never do you read about the possibility of reducing some administrative staff, or the possibility of having the employee pay some of their insurance premiums. Those options are never on the “table.” It is always a music teacher or an athletic program that has to “go.” In reality one administrator salary would probably save at least two music teachers. But that never seems to be an option.
This really is a problem. When the real options are removed from consideration, the property taxpayer are the ones getting the “shaft” in the process. The problem is the fact that there is literally NO accountability as to how a school district spends the taxpayers money. There is very little “sunshine” on the school district expenditures. Sure, there is a budget hearing where the board chairman, superintendent or clerk explains in a very general way how the budget was prepared, where the money comes from and where it goes. These hearing are generally attended by few taxpayers, if any. School districts are also required to post and publish their budgets but all of these measures fall far short of any real accountability. Next year, because of a bill that passed the Legislature last session, most school districts will be required to post their expenditures online. In the meantime, school districts, operating under a veil of secrecy, supply a limited set of options — designed to raise public ire and protect the education establishment.
If school districts are serious about cutting government and not just playing politics, they won’t wait until next year to publish, post and vet all of the expenditures so that the people who pay the bills can determine whether or not a “music teacher” has to go.
