Increased turnout leads to budget OK
It is a "stop the presses" kind of day when voters in Howell pass a school budget, and that is exactly the type of day it was on April 15.

For whatever the reason, Howell is a town where residents rarely approve the tax levy that is proposed by the Board of Education to fund the coming year's K-8 school budget.

It is almost a guarantee that after voters reject the tax levy in the April school election, the Township Council will review the board's proposed budget and recommend cuts to the spending plan. It can always be argued that the reductions may or may not have a lasting impact on the education of the pupils in the school district.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the voting booth this year. Residents - many of whom have children presently attending Howell schools - got informed about the proposed budget, examined the cost to them in property taxes and then voted to approve the tax levy that was proposed by the board.

The results were quite amazing.

By a count of 3,381 yes votes to 2,478 no votes, the board's proposed $62.1 million general fund local tax levy to support a $110.1 million budget for 2008- 09 was approved. The results marked only the third time in 12 years that voters have approved a budget and kept it from being reviewed and reduced by the Township Council.

Two groups of citizens appear to have played a significant role in deciding the outcome of the election.

The first was a collection of people who used an online system called Google Groups to communicate about developments with the budget and the school district. The Tri-Town News was copied on some of the e-mails that were sent among group members. The communications were fact-filled and nonjudgmental. There was no bashing of the school board.

According to Dan Harasty, one of the people behind the effort, "The main characteristic I was striving for was that people be accurate in the facts they reported and respectful in the discussion of their opinions." That appears to have happened.

Another group that appears to have played a role in the passage of the school budget this year was the Howell Vote Yes organization.

Lisa Ambrosio Williams, who participated in Howell Vote Yes, said, "Our main charter was to educate the public and let them know the importance of their votes and its impact on their children."

Howell Superintendent of Schools Enid Golden acknowledged that the community involvement may well have helped the budget pass muster.

By comparison, the April 2007 vote on the 2007-08 school tax levy was 2,050 no votes to 1,800 yes votes. That means more than 1,500 additional people came out and voted yes on the tax levy this year.

That is a remarkable achievement in the face of tough financial times and one that points out what people can do when they study the issues and are presented with credible information.

Of course, not all the news is good. One board member quoted in today's story about the election results is already worried about a projected deficit in the 2009-10 school budget.

We encourage the Howell school board and administration to continue being upfront in every way with residents. The board members and administrators should see from the April 15 outcome that they have a constituency that is ready to participate and ready to approve school spending if they are dealt with in a forthright manner by the people who have been charged with running the district.