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2/17/2009
Burri: A day for political junkies - and vote for Rose Fernandez
February primaries are the NFL Pro Bowls of modern electoral events. Both attract two kinds of people: the most hopelessly addicted of followers (read: junkies), and those who just happen to channel-surf onto the game.
Or who walk into the polling place by accident, hoping to find a bathroom.
So God bless the political junkies: if it weren't for them, nobody would be paying any attention on Primary Day today.
And…well, for good reason. Because, y'know, whaddawe got, exactly? Six people running for school board? Or three people running for Mayor? Maybe? Five people running for Superintendent of Public Instruction?
What exactly is a Superintendent of Public Instruction, anyway? And why am I voting for one?
Ah, but wait, there's a third reason people might be interested today: school referenda. Some of you lucky junkies have those on your ballots! According to Ballotpedia.org, voters in six school districts are weighing in on nine separate spending measures today. In April, we'll have a whole bunch more.
These referendums, regular FoxPolitics readers will already know, are the result of Wisconsin's school finance system: schools are allowed to spend up to this much, and their spending can grow annually by this much. If they want more than that, they have to ask the voters.
Statewide, about half of school referendums pass. Of course, that doesn't take repeat referendums into account: when a referendum fails once, the district will frequently bring the exact same referendum – or a very similar one – back a second, third, even fourth time.
Opponents have to win them all. Proponents only have to win once. That doesn't seem quite fair, but…well, tough. And anyway, the real victory isn't whether one side or the other wins this or that referendum: it's that we have to vote at all.
We get to vote on school spending past a certain limit. That's a victory in and of itself.
Had the revenue caps never gone into place, Appleton wouldn't be voting today on whether or not to spend $11 million by 2011 to "improve class size ratios and purchase curriculum materials." Oh, they'd still be paying it – the school district would be spending it – but the voters wouldn't be voting on it.
Salem taxpayers would simply be paying for $3.5 million "to prevent an increase in class sizes." Waupun would simply be paying nearly $5 million for various reasons. Highland would simply be paying the $400,000 per year their school board wants.
And they'd probably be paying a lot more than that.
Vote or no, they still might end up paying it. The referendums might pass. But at least they – the taxpayers – get one final chance to give their yea or nay.
So get out there and vote, all you junkies. Oh, and while you're at it, check the box next to Rose Fernandez' name. She's running for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Whatever that is.
Lance Burri is a contributor to the Badger Blog Alliance
COMMENTS
I decided just now to vote for Tony Evers for state superintendent, because you just can't trust certain other folks.
If the agency were the Department of Private Instruction, maybe I'd vote for one of them. Or the Department of Virtual Public Instruction.
Having a DPrI or a DPVI might not be such a bad idea, but these kinds of causes attract a lot of kooks.
I'd trust my tax money to be spent more wisely by a guy like Tony Evers than someone who would spend my dollars on Bible classes taught over the Internet.
Rich Eggleston (Tue Feb 17 10:18:43 2009)
I voted for Rose Fernandez and I think Rich needs to get a grip on reality.
It really is getting tiresome that when someone supports the choice of parents actually having a say in how their children are educated, those on the left make the same ridiculous assertions about religion, exposing their phobia of anything to do with God and choice.
Grow up mr. Eggleston.
Zeus Rodriguez (Tue Feb 17 16:08:42 2009)
I'm with you Mr. Rodriguez. Hear, hear.
Jo (Tue Feb 17 18:08:42 2009)
I voted for her too.
emily matthews (Tue Feb 17 20:49:07 2009)
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