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Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Voters reject $37M school project by 10-1 margin

I don't live in the Wyomissing School District but the news that district voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by district officials to borrow $37 million to build a new school brought a smile to my face today.

The referendum question was defeated by a tally of 3,207 to 338 or 10-to-1. District residents have been telling the district they didn't like the plan for most of the past year, but school officials refused to listen.

Instead, they put the question to a vote. The people have spoken. Loud and clear.

I think every major decision by a school board such as new construction should be put to a vote. Same goes for school budgets.

Gov. Ed Rendell promised Pennsylvania taxpayers they would have the final say on school budgets when he signed Act 1 into law in 2006, but it turned out to be more empty rhetoric by Rendell. The same law gives school districts a dozen exemptions that allows them to bypass the voters.

I applaud the voters of the Wyomissing School District for finally telling school administrators and tone-deaf school board members that enough is enough. School spending is out of control in Pennsylvania.

Voters have to send a strong message every time one of these Taj Mahal projects is proposed. Voters also have to start voting out school board members who rubber-stamp every request made by superintendents.

At least one Wyomissing School Board member applauded the voters.

Board member Larry Fitzgerald, who did not support the project, told the Reading Eagle he was glad that the issue was put before voters.

"They have spoken very loud and very clear," Fitzgerald told the newspaper. "I'm glad it was decisive."

Read more about the Berks County vote in today's edition of The Reading Eagle.

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