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Chris Churchill: With school vote, Albany sent a clear message
Chris Churchill Updated 6:51 am, Tuesday, November 10, 2015
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Students bicycles are parked near a sign for voting at Albany High School on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, in
Albany, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)
Albany
We don't yet know if the proposed $196 million remake of Albany High School will pass
or fail. But this much is clear: Voters sent a message that shouldn't be ignored.
Yes, the margin of defeat, currently at 10 votes, is razor-thin. Yes, it is possible that
absentee ballots that will be counted this week could reverse the outcome in favor of
the borrowing.
Still, the vote is a remarkable statement, whatever the end result.
Consider that there was no organized campaign against the plan. No PR team crafted
an opposition message. Mayor Kathy Sheehan and most other elected officials backed
the new school and its tax increase.
And yet half of city voters said no.
They said the plan to build one of the most expensive high schools ever is too much for
a fiscally stressed city and for property owners who already pay backbreaking taxes.
It isn't at all clear, though, that district officials heard the message.
In interviews with Bethany Bump, who covers education for the Times Union, school
officials seemed to think the problem wasn't that the project was too large or
expensive. They suggested that voters just didn't get it.
"We need to do a better job of helping
them understand why we need what we
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need," Superintendent Marguerite
Vanden Wyngaard said.
"We need to move forward with that
project," added school board member Rose Brandon. "We need it very badly."
Uh-oh. It sounds as though the district might respond to a potential defeat by asking
voters to reconsider the very same $196 million project.
That would be a terrible mistake. Voters don't like to feel they are being ignored or their
time is being wasted. They want to be heard.
No one disputes that the school needs a renovation or that some spending is
necessary. Yet if the vote goes down, the district should respond by proposing a less
expensive project. Otherwise, it risks an especially angry, frustrated and distrustful
electorate.
Here are a few other steps to consider:
Be transparent about project costs. District officials tried to downplay the tax impact
by claiming the $196 million expansion/renovation would cost the average taxpayer
just $30 to $77 more annually. That was only half accurate because the taxpayer cost
was much higher when the impact of expiring debt was factored in the calculation.
Be transparent about long-term plans. I heard from voters who feared the district
would follow a successful high school vote with a pricey plan for a third middle school.
Whether or not that's accurate, voters deserve to know what could be coming.
More Information
Explore possibilities at the old
Bishop Maginn site. Planning for the
Contact Chris Churchill at 518-4545442 or email
[email protected]
new high school came before the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany
decided to move its city high school
from its longtime home. Going
forward, the Albany district should
show voters it has at least explored
the site's potential. Would Albany be better off with two high schools? Why or why not?
Do a better job of explaining project costs. I met with district officials about the new
school and communicated frequently with them before the election. Yet I never got a
clear explanation of why the school remake was so expensive, and I'm sure many
voters feel the same. Why is it that an entirely new (and admittedly smaller) Rensselaer
high school could be built in 2008 for $65 million, but the Albany high
renovation/expansion would cost three times that amount?
Listen to Ellen Roach's ideas about Capital Region BOCES. Roach said frequently
during her successful school board campaign that it would be far cheaper to fully
partner with BOCES instead of building an addition at the high school to house
technical education. Is she right?
Stop suggesting that voters who opposed the borrowing don't care about children and
education. (To be fair, I heard this more from parents than district officials.)
A family that spends $100 on a birthday gift for a child does not care more than one
that can only spend $50. There's also no reason to believe that the first kid will be
happier long term — or that a more expensive high school plan is inherently better for
education.
Albany residents already pay for a school system that spends more, in total dollars,
than any in the region. They have repeatedly proven their willingness to support public
education.
But there are limits to what they can afford. That's the message they sent.
[email protected] • 518-454-5442 • @chris_churchill
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