Vote YES on the Albany school budget

Our kids have lost enough already

Fellow Albany parents,

I’m writing this in the hope that you will support this year’s Albany school budget. Your vote will absolutely matter, and it will determine the resources available to our kids next year.

I’ll be the first to say this budget is sad and painful in many ways, first and foremost that many good people who our children love and rely on will lose their jobs. But voting against it won’t change that. It won’t send a message. Voting no — or, worse, not voting — is simply a vote to give the kids even less at a time they can least afford it.

Voting no — or, worse, not voting — is simply a vote to give the kids even less.

You can review the budget for yourself here, and I encourage you to do that. There is plenty of reason to be upset, and you might start with the incredibly complex — and, many argue, fundamentally unfair — way we fund public education in New York. That is legitimate, but none of that it is likely to be resolved between now and June 9, when our community will decide how much we’re willing to invest in our school children from whom so much has already been taken.

You might ask yourself, “Why should I vote for a budget that cuts so deeply into the services my kids receive?” That’s a good question.

The answer is that this budget, as painful as it is, is the best of only bad options.

The financial damage that’s being inflicted by COVID-19 is unprecedented and still piling up. State and local governments are staring down losses of expected revenue in the billions, and schools are being asked to craft budgets knowing that the state aid they rely on (to the tune of $118 million in Albany’s case) will almost certainly be cut deeply — perhaps by as much as 20 percent — but without knowing by exactly how much.

To balance next year’s budget, the Albany School Board is asking residents to approve a 1.96% tax increase that will still require $13.8 million in painful cuts, including the elimination of 142 positions.

And yet it is still the best option for our kids. Just look at the alternatives.

If this budget referendum fails — a strong possibility — the district has two options:

1. attempt a second budget with, most likely, additional cuts at an estimated cost of $100,000 to $150,000 for a second referendum, or
2. proceed directly to a contingency budget without a second vote, which would require an additional $2.3 million in cuts.

In other words, if you’re rightfully upset by what’s not in this budget, voting it down will only make it worse.

Voting YES on this budget does not mean you agree with all of the cuts, or every decision the board made, or how it made them.

Voting YES does not mean you do not support the district’s fantastic staff.

Voting YES does mean that you want the kids of Albany, and those hardworking staff members who will remain, to have as many resources as possible — even if we all know it’s still not enough.

Voting YES means recognizing that sometimes the best option feels almost unpalatable — but is still the best option.

If you’re rightfully upset by what’s not in this budget, voting it down will only make it worse.

Some folks will vote against this budget because it proposes increasing property taxes at a time of enormous financial uncertainty. Everyone’s circumstances are different. That does not make them bad or selfish.

But it does make YOUR vote incredibly important. As a parent, grandparent, guardian, or caregiver, you can only control the decisions that you make for the people in your life.

Do not assume this budget will pass without your vote. It won’t.

In the coming week, you will receive an absentee ballot in the mail. One will be sent to every registered voter in the city. There will be no in-person voting this year due to the pandemic. This is a major change.

If you are registered to vote and do not receive a ballot, please contact the school board’s clerk to ensure that you do. If you have friends or family with children in the district, please remind them to watch for their ballots and to be sure to vote.

Virtually nothing that has happened to your child’s education over the last three months has been within your control.

This is.

I hope you will join me in voting YES on the budget and return your ballot immediately.

The deadline to vote is June 9.