Sounds like a good idea

You know you’re encountering a good idea when your first reaction is, “Why didn’t someone think of that before?”

That’s the way we felt Monday night when Jay School Board president Duane Starr floated the idea of moving school board elections to the fall.

Starr had two concerns, both of them valid.

First, there’s the matter of voter turnout.

The school corporation represents the lion’s share of property taxes paid in the county, yet only a small fraction of the eligible voters turn out at the polls at the May primary when school board candidates are elected.

Second, there’s the matter of the budget.

Talk candidly with any current or past school board member and they’ll tell you that their first encounter with the budget process was a nightmarish blur.

That’s because — under the current system — new board members take office on July 1, only a few weeks before the legally mandated schedule for budget adoption kicks in. There’s no way new board members can get a meaningful understanding of what they’re voting on in such a short time.

Moving the school board election to November would increase voter turnout automatically, and board members taking office Jan. 1 would have six months to learn about their duties before tackling a budget. It simply makes good sense.

Interestingly, Starr was the perfect person to suggest the idea. Shifting the election date will require that newly-elected board members and incumbents with two more years on their term will serve an additional six months. As a lame duck who leaves the board after June 30, Starr isn’t affected.

So far, board members have just asked attorney Phil Frantz to draft language for a resolution to make the change. They won’t act on it until their June meeting at the earliest. If they do approve it, there will be plenty of opportunity for public comment.

But from where we stand, it looks like a smart step in the right direction. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]