LEDGER EDITORIAL, April 13
During this school board campaign, we could almost hear the crickets trilling. With a new administration taking the reigns, there appears to be less agitation over the direction of the school system.
Perhaps residents are taking a wait-and-see approach as new Superintendent of Schools Philip Meara settles into his job.
For a break in recent tradition, the school board race is uncontested. Incumbent Michael Brindle is seeking his sixth term and newcomers Thomas Patrick and Kevin Pollock are running for seats vacated by board members Michael Winka and Robin Bridges-Johnson.
But there is an election on Tuesday, where voters will decide the tax levy for the 2006-07 budget and select new Board of Education members for the next three years.
On whole we find the proposed $61.5 million budget to strike a balance between fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers and providing a quality education to Lawrence youth.
The proposed 2006-07 budget carries a tax-rate increase of 9 cents, or from $1.96 to $2.05 per $100 of assessed value. This means the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $164,117 would pay $3,364 to support the 2006-07 budget, an increase of $148.
The proposed budget is under the state-imposed cap, which is no mean feat given big spikes in energy costs and the commitment to funding pensions and health-care costs.
Some residents, in letters to this page and at other public forums, expressed dismay at the addition of more administrative positions. Others criticized the elimination of the specialized positions such as math and science Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) and science and math project coordinator.
But the new policies and positions, including more in-district programs for special education students and more basic skills teachers, ought to be given a chance to work.
Lawrence, and many school districts around the state, felt the financial pinch this year state aid held flat for a third consecutive year, which really amounts to a decrease in aid. Also, Lawrence will lose the tuition revenue from Washington Township as that municipality sends all its high-school students to its newly completed high school.
With a brief exception in 2004, Lawrence voters have generally supported the school budget.
We have written before that it’s not only in the public interest, but is in the voters’ self-interest to approve the budget the quality of a school district’s education is often related to the property values in the municipality. And over the past decade property values have continued to increase.
While the voting booth is often the place where property owners express their displeasure with the tax levy for the schools, it really is the wrong forum.
For township residents who disagree with the funding choices or educational policy the best place to be heard is at the monthly school board meetings. The next meeting is Wednesday and we encourage residents to join the conversation on how to have a quality and cost-effective education for Lawrence students.

