To the Editor:

It’s hard to make this complicated. We need Helen Marie Lounsbury on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board.

The BKW District School Board must, first and foremost, consider the continued sustainability of the district. The decline in enrollment along with lack of population growth are undeniable realities of BKW and many other rural districts in the state. Higher and higher per-pupil costs and the increasing need to raise more money from district taxpayers leaves many local residents stretched to the limit of their resources.

Next year, the local share alone of the school budget will exceed $11,000,000. State aid increases are quickly swallowed up by increased spending. Not raising taxes does little to alter the reality of the year-after-year burden on residents, of spending at this level. Yes, it is a statewide problem, but we live here.

Some members of the present school board appear to believe that the district has to become “too big to swallow,” much like a puffer fish that inflates itself to avoid being swallowed by predators. Might work but I doubt it, and also, it is an expensive strategy.

Careful monitoring of spending, including line by line, public review of proposed budgets, followed by quarterly review of actual spending might be more productive than shot-in-the dark proposals. “Hey, how about a 14-million-dollar proposal, or maybe 12 million, no, why not try 10 million? Hurry up!”

Not a thoughtful way to move forward.

School board members have a difficult job. First of all, they are elected to represent the people of the BKW district. All the people. Not just those that come to meetings, or those who have students in the district, or those that agree with every proposal that the board suggests.

They are not joining a “mutual admiration society.” It should not be a problem when a board member disagrees with other board members; in fact, it should lead to discussion and understanding. Hopefully it would be public discussion.

Board members have three constituencies to deal with: residents, students, and staff. Obviously, some residents are in more than one group. Balancing the needs of all three groups is not easy, because, as we all know, pleasing everyone is impossible.

Trying to please everyone is also very expensive. Saying no to spending is tough. Saying yes to too much spending is disastrous. Board members need to remember that they are spending other people’s money. They are district residents, and neighbors, not unknown people from, “somewhere else.”

There are five people running for three BKW School Board seats. My suggestion is that you select a board member who would have the integrity, experience, and knowledge of the process, to be an independent-minded representative. One who will not only vote for policies that make sense to her, but who will be willing and able to call, “time out, this does not make sense and I cannot support it!”

Again, we need Helen Marie Lounsbury on the BKW School Board.

P.S.: I served for five years on the BKW School Board, and eight years on the BKW Budget Review Committee. And, yes, Helen Lounsbury is my sister, and I can testify that she is not easy to intimidate — a great characteristic for a school board member.

Joe Golden

East Berne

Editor’s note: Joe Golden is a Berne councilman.