High Anxiety: School Board Elections Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Election Day for school board candidates and 550 school district budgets. Dire predictions abound, as school budgets are the only arena for tax-tired residents to assert themselves. The Philadelphia Inquirer has a nice overview, emphasizing that “Superintendents say their proposed budgets are among the leanest in years – through staff cuts, combined services, refinanced debt, and reduced programming.” Districts are getting creative (or desperate, take your pick): soliciting corporate sponsorships, charging for extra-curricular activities, laying off staff, freezing administrators’ salaries.