The vote on the New Paltz school budget is one week away

I get the feeling that this year's vote on the New Paltz School District's budget, coming next Tuesday, May 18, is one that the school district desperately wants to fly in under the radar.

The district's propaganda came in the mail yesterday, and the announcement of the budget vote seemed crafted to make it no big deal. After all, a "Yes" vote will cause the tax levy to rise by only 3%, hardly a ripple in the district's great financial ocean.

And the "No" vote will only make the tax levy rise a little less, just 2%. So what's the difference? Are voters going to get ruffled over a mere 1% difference and vote "No?"

Well, let's hope so. A "No" vote is a vote to keep up the pressure on the district, which still insists that it is an indespensible institution on which the fate of "the children" turns. But it is a backward, teachers union driven and teachers union bound, money sink that imposes itself through relentless PR, the inducement of guilt, and the "more" vs. "more more" choices of the annual budget vote.

So, let's hope that voters get out, as they did for the vote on the Middle School, and say "No" again. It will only get them an increase of 1% less -- 2% instead of 3%, "more" instead of "more more" -- but it sends the right message and indicates the right direction.