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The Exeter-West Greenwich Regional School Committee approved a budget for the 2008-09 school year during its public meeting Tuesday night. We had planned to report on that budget figure — as is our custom — but we didn’t get the chance because the School Committee wouldn’t release the actual figure(s) to us after the meeting ended that night.
To the school department’s credit we did receive an eleventh-hour fax Wednesday morning right before we went to press with some basic budget information so at least we can tell you that the School Committee approved a $31,661,238 budget ($22,460,413 of which will come from taxes) for the 2008-09 school year. For Exeter taxpayers that translates to a 2.67 percent increase over last year.
The fact that we were denied this information last night is a problem.
And what’s even more problematic for us is this isn’t the first time we’ve asked for public, financial numbers from this committee after a meeting, only to come away empty-handed.
When a public body —be it a School Committee, Town Council or Planning Board — discusses issues, financial or otherwise, during an open, advertised meeting, that information is public. Period.
Issues that are not meant for public ears are discussed in executive session and are limited to topics such as litigation, personnel and the like.
Turnout at public meetings in general, not just at School Committee meetings, isn’t always stellar. The people who are most interested in the happenings of their local School Committee usually have children in the school system, meaning they are often balancing sports, homework, Girl Scouts, music lessons, dinner and family-time in the few short hours between the second their children step off the bus and into their beds.
The efforts of public broadcasting entities such as EWG-TV help individuals who are unable to attend town and school meetings stay informed as to what transpired by airing the meetings on public access or the Web but it is also the right and responsibility of the free press to provide a synopsis of such meetings in print.
It is inappropriate and unprofessional for a committee to withhold information as important as a budget from the public, which is essentially what happened Tuesday night when School Committee members wouldn’t give a Standard-Times reporter the budget they approved in a 5-1 vote (Teri Cicero was absent and William Munroe dissented) just moments before.
How can a taxpayer make an informed decision on whether or not they can support a budget with their hard-earned money if the individuals asking for that money don’t (or won’t) thoroughly justify how they’re going to spend it or how much of it they want to spend?
We hope the Exeter-West Greenwich School Committee keeps the lines of communication open between you, us and them. It’s your — our — right to know what happens at public meetings and what they’re voting on in public session which, in this case, is a budget they want you to support on March 24. |
