To the Editor:

High Guilderland school taxes remain a top concern, but residents can play a role in easing the burden. A school tax cut is within our reach. Consider these facts: student enrollment in the district has dropped every year for the last 12 years; enrollment is down 13 percent overall.

Yet, spending has increased about 30 percent in that same period. The district has fewer “customers,” yet it is spending much more money. That’s a strong indication more progress can be made on spending control.

Let’s use the Albany County example. It raised property taxes by more than 8 percent in each of three years from 2009 to 2013. It got so troubling a new approach was created. Fast forward to today. There was a slight decrease in your county taxes this year, after three years of flat taxes.

This process meant making hard choices and insisting on efficiency. After all, the county has onerous state mandates, too. The county share of Medicaid alone is about $65 million a year.

Additionally, state aid to the Guilderland school district is up nearly 8 percent this year, and was up 5.65 percent last year. It seems the more we are given, the more we spend.

So what does “hard choices” mean? The district often touts the idea that no programs are ever cut. This is not an accomplishment. All programs should be evaluated every year and the least effective or useful ones should be pared back or eliminated. That’s what managers do.

Much more careful review is also needed of “substitute days” in the district. We have nearly 9,000 teacher absences of one kind or another in a single year. Having a substitute is disruptive to a child’s education and it adds costs to the district.

When the state tax cap passed, many school districts predicted catastrophic consequences. In fact, relatively few districts have tried to override the tax cap.

A new attitude is needed that recognizes cutting school taxes is possible. That’s where you come in. Encourage your school board members to think that way and support them when they do. They have a hard job and are pulled in many directions. Lend your support when they sharpen their pencils. And start believing, a school tax cut is possible here.

Mark Grimm

Guilderland

Editor’s note: Mark Grimm is a Republican Albany County Legislator from Guilderland; he also served as a volunteer for five years on the Guilderland School District Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, which has since been disbanded.