The integrity and purpose of the Annual Electors Meeting was torn asunder last October. And nobody seems to care. The Annual Meeting isn't even on Life Support somewhere, it's dead--another victim of the Sun Prairie School District Administration.. Deceased. It's passed on. It is no more. It has expired and gone to meet its maker. It is bereft of life. It has run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. It has CEASED TO BE. You know...like the famous Monty Python skit (see video below right). Except this isn't funny.
The Annual Meeting over the past three years has been like Goldilocks all over again.
In 2009, as the recession took hold, angry taxpayers flooded the Annual Meeting. A meeting which historically drew a "crowd" of under 30 people--and all "district people at that--suddenly swelled to over 200. They felt that the district budget was overly inflated and voted to reduce the proposed tax levy by $2M. Several board members puffed their chests and declared that they would ignore the electors. In the end, they wisely chose to follow the electors' advice. Because when the year ended, the district had a $1.3M SURPLUS!. And that was AFTER scooping $2M of cream off this budget pie. This represented the "this bed is too soft" scenario.
In 2010, the school district seemed to have learned their lesson and ultimately a reasonable budget was proposed. Despite another large turnout, the budget and proposed tax levy were passed with minimal public comment. This, of course, represents the "this bed is just right" scenario.
Then in 2011, a group of pro-district folks got together determined to make the pendulum swing the other way. Despite the school board telling them, all through the entire budget process, "Not with new tax dollars", this group worked behind the scenes to override the school board and set a tax levy higher than that proposed by the district/board. And it sure looked like shenanigans had been visiting. The motions appeared too well "coached". And for reasons still not adequately explained, the district slideshow eschewed subtlety and promoted the poor six budget initiatives for which the school board refused to increase the tax levy.
Both cutting the levy and increasing the proposed levy were wrong. More to the point, had the board "reigned in" administration, those roads would never have even presented themselves as options.
Making it Right
So the annual meeting is broke. And if it's broke, it needs to be fixed.
Here's what we think needs to be done to make reparations and resurrect the integrity and value of the Annual Electors Meeting.
1. The School Board Has to TALK ABOUT IT
That's right. Someone needs to write up a situation report and make the annual meeting an agenda item at a formal school board meeting.
2. Discuss Budget Options; But Affix a "Sell By" Date
The budget process should include multiple times at which options are discussed with the public and public input collected. Instead of just reviewing the final budget, the school board needs to establish a mid-course position on items such as the now infamous "Seditional Six" budget initiatives. Put the budget status on an agenda and take some initial action to refine the process for the home stretch. Clearly, with a roll call vote, establish whether or not specific initiatives will be built into the budget. Then move on. This shall be the last call for spending it all.
Just like your grocer uses "sell by" dates, so should there be "sell by" dates established for budget "initiatives". If you haven't sold the board majority once the budget is adopted in September, that's it. The gavel has fallen. Move on...nothing to see here.
3. Focus on Building a Budget "Necessary to Operate and Maintain Schools"
The statutes clearly outline that the School Board needs to establish a budget which is sufficient to operate and maintain schools. Nowhere in there does it say to establish a budget which either ENHANCES or DETRACTS from schools. Operate. Maintain. Period.
This is where the power of the community lies. But it should be a rare occurrence. If the board decides to [for a wild example] cut all building maintenance to lower property taxes, then clearly this would not be a budget that "operates and maintains schools". Similarly, people cannot think that just because a politically motivated group can fill the school's amphitheater and vote to raise the tax levy to the authorized revenue limit, that is what the board will do.
4. "Rein In" the School District's Reign
The biggest problem at this year's meeting was the slideshow. People do not need the history, and this is not the time or the place to review what options were excluded. The clock has expired for those. This is not a meeting for the district to run a 20 or 30-minute slideshow. This is the time to present a bare bones, just-the-facts-ma'am, expenditure and revenue summary. Absolutely, this is not the time to incite or rally a certain crowd by showing a series of "Here's what we wanted to do but the school board wouldn't let us" slides. If someone really is all jazzed to show 24 slides, maybe at the first public hearing of the budget that would be appropriate. The annual meeting should be all business. The shouting be over and wish lists put away.
5. Make it clear that the school board has ultimate authority over the tax levy
People still don't get it, so the School Board has to tell them. Repeatedly. Loudly. Clearly.
If you build this in, they will not come. The rabble rousers, that is.
6. Make the Annual Meeting be "Just Right"
If the school board has sufficiently and appropriately directed district administration, we should have a budget that operates and maintains schools while also considering the impact on taxpayers. The Annual Meeting should not be a place where Belichickian battles are waged. Nor should it be a place where "he who brings the biggest crowd wins". The Annual Meeting should be made over to be a place for celebration of achievement. A time to celebrate a budget which satisfies all factions within the community and an opportunity to officially "launch" the school year. [Great googly moogly...it sounds like WE'VE been drinkin' the Koolaid!]
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