If there is one underlying theme in the results of Tuesday's school board balloting, it's that the status quo is OK with voters. From the passage of the budget and secondary referendums to the re-election of two incumbents, voters in the Auburn Enlarged School District, dismissing district critics, gave their stamp of approval to Thornton Avenue.
Nearly two thirds of all the votes cast in anemic voter turnout were for incumbents Ginny Kent and Michael Stearns and newcomer Susan Scheuerman (many supporters, prior to Election Day, were touting a mantra based on the old word play of Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) changing it to KSS - Kent, Scheuerman and Stearns). Both current board president Stearns and vice president Kent were “defenders of the faith” when it came to taking on the district's chief critic, candidate Jerry Morgan. Scheuerman had crossover appeal, agreeing with many of the policies of the district and also agreeing, at least initially, with some of the budgetary concerns raised by Morgan. The three were seen as a team, and team efforts have almost always out garnered the votes of single independent candidates in Auburn.
The biggest winner on Tuesday didn't even appear on the ballot. In part, this week's balloting was an unofficial referendum of sorts on outgoing Superintendent of Schools John Plume. He can be gratified that voters indirectly approved of the work that he has done, with the re-election of two of his chief supporters to the board. If voters were really upset at what he was doing, they would have not re-elected Kent and Stearns and also approved the budget.
Even sweeter for the superintendent was, likely, seeing his chief critic, Morgan, getting less than 39 percent of the vote. Voters seemed to invalidate his continual stinging attacks on the superintendent that started years ago over the purchase of equipment and continued most recently on turf and storage sheds.
Morgan was the only one of the six candidates to push for the defeat of the budget. Notable was the fact that almost 9 percent more votes were cast against the budget than for his candidacy. Often it is the other way around, where the candidate that resonates, generates more votes for themselves than the issue they fought against.
Supporters will tout the budget victory as validation of the administration of local schools. They should be careful making that type of argument. A sign of trouble on the horizon for the district is that while the vote may have been roughly 56 percent to 44 percent to pass the budget, a swap of just 155 votes would have defeated it.
The gap between passage and defeat seems to be closing over the years as voter turnout dwindles when it comes to budgets. Such a trend could mean trouble in the future for a district that can't generate more support for its proposed budget.
Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com
The biggest winner on Tuesday didn't even appear on the ballot. In part, this week's balloting was an unofficial referendum of sorts on outgoing Superintendent of Schools John Plume. He can be gratified that voters indirectly approved of the work that he has done, with the re-election of two of his chief supporters to the board. If voters were really upset at what he was doing, they would have not re-elected Kent and Stearns and also approved the budget.
Even sweeter for the superintendent was, likely, seeing his chief critic, Morgan, getting less than 39 percent of the vote. Voters seemed to invalidate his continual stinging attacks on the superintendent that started years ago over the purchase of equipment and continued most recently on turf and storage sheds.
Morgan was the only one of the six candidates to push for the defeat of the budget. Notable was the fact that almost 9 percent more votes were cast against the budget than for his candidacy. Often it is the other way around, where the candidate that resonates, generates more votes for themselves than the issue they fought against.
Supporters will tout the budget victory as validation of the administration of local schools. They should be careful making that type of argument. A sign of trouble on the horizon for the district is that while the vote may have been roughly 56 percent to 44 percent to pass the budget, a swap of just 155 votes would have defeated it.
The gap between passage and defeat seems to be closing over the years as voter turnout dwindles when it comes to budgets. Such a trend could mean trouble in the future for a district that can't generate more support for its proposed budget.
Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com
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Come on Guy wrote on May 23, 2007 12:46 AM:
Bill wrote on May 18, 2007 6:30 PM:
Bottom Line wrote on May 18, 2007 1:35 PM:
Jerry Morgan Sr wrote on May 18, 2007 12:59 PM: