Voting is Important

Please vote. You can vote today until 7 p.m. and tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It may seem to be too much trouble to work your way to the end of the ballot and make your choices in the school board races, but considering that 1/3 of our population consists of students in K-12, it's pretty important that you choose.

I'm the last name (alphabetically) in the 5-person race for the open at-large seat (no incumbent). If you're still trying to decide how to vote in that race, just remember that I'm FOR the good things and AGAINST the bad things.

Changing the Conversation

The campaign has been short and amicable and many of you have already voted. Whether you have or not, it's important that you read Jerod Clapp's N-T coverage of the campaign for the three seats on this year's ballot.

I am very pleased to see how my campaign has helped to change the conversation this year. From reading Clapp's coverage, it's easy to see how the issues I've raised have become the keys to the race.

Today's story is extensive and revealing. Where I'm quoted, it's mostly accurate. I have no quibbles. Although I'm the only candidate who has come out against this year's referendum, you can clearly tell that my opponents aren't entirely confident that the $87 million tax referendum measure will succeed.

Each seems to be ready to accept a "no" vote. That's a good thing. The new board - even if it has but one new member - will face challenges either way.

And while it takes some reading between the lines, it seems that there are, among the candidates, two teams with varying loyalties. I suppose I'm one of the true independents in this race. I won't go deeply into my analysis here, if only because I hope to be working with a couple of these people later. But it's very interesting to suss out the dynamic at play.

Suffice it to say that the conflict between Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and King Henry II, the sovereign of England in the 12th Century comes to mind.

The story alludes to cross-endorsements in the 3 races, as well, and while I have my own preferences, I am not allied with either of these teams.

You can vote every day this week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at six locations in the county and then again on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at nine locations.

You can also vote at the Floyd County Clerk's office through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and then again on Monday from 8 a.m. to noon.

On Tuesday, November 8, there are 19 locations open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can find all of these locations and hours here. Sample ballots are viewable here.

My Pledge for Transparency

The election concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and I hope I can count on your support. While school board decisions are rarely made in secret, there is still a long way to go in making those decisions fully transparent. I promise to work toward that goal in several ways.

Those of you who know me personally know that I have been an oft-prolific writer during my years here. In fact, my advocacy on matters of public interest is very likely to be the reason many of you will vote for me.

It turns out that I am the only candidate for school board who is not supportive of the schools referendum appearing on this year's ballot. I'm humbled by the voters who have told me that they will be voting for me based on my judgment and integrity, even though those same voters disagree with me on this referendum.

I simply do not believe the school administration and the promoters of this referendum have made their case well and I believe voters resent the lack of transparency evident in this campaign. The $87 million bond issue, if approved, will severely limit the next school board's ability to address the objective of making NA-FC schools truly great.

As it stands, whoever wins in the at-large race may be the only new member of the school corporation's board of directors. If I win, I may have only a limited impact on the direction of our local public schools. But I will work hard to keep you informed - here and elsewise - should I be honored with your votes.

As possibly the only new member, I will have to hit the ground running. The budget is already set for the year. Whether the referendum passes or not, there will be immediate decisions to be made. By all accounts, the current superintendent will be leaving the corporation and our choice of his successor will be critical.

So, if I win, I will keep you informed on every step I take as your newly elected representative. November 9 will be just the first day of four very busy years and I promise to communicate with you openly from that day forward.

You can keep me informed, too. Let me know your desires and concerns. You can do that here, on the blog, in the comments section. I am on Facebook and Twitter, too. You can email me at truthinourschools@gmail.com or call or text me at 812.944.5116.

Thanks. And be sure to vote. You can vote every day this week through Saturday and then again next Monday morning and all day next Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For voting locations, visit this page on the Floyd County Clerk's website.

A New Voice for Our Children

Thank you for visiting my website. Every word you read here is my own and I'll be happy to talk to you or your group about the challenges facing our public schools today.

I'm Randy Smith and like many of you, I have lost faith in the management of the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated Schools Corporation. Rather than complain about it, though, I'm offering my name on the ballot for school board this November, seeking an at-large seat for the next four years.

I earnestly ask for your vote this fall. Early voting begins on Oct. 12 and Election Day is Nov. 8.

Over the course of the next two months, I'll be speaking here about the challenges our public schools face. Leave a comment. I'll be happy to make this a two-way conversation.

Where's the Clamor for School Funding?

Over the past decade, the formulas for school funding in Indiana have changed dramatically. Some would argue that this a a good thing, but most local school boards (and their constituencies) have not adapted to the new reality.

Former Gov. Mitch Daniels was straightforward in saying that if local jurisdictions wanted top-notch schools, they would have to pay for it themselves.

This recent report from FiveThirtyEight.com explains how school funding has suffered.

In May 2008, as the Great Recession was just beginning, U.S. school departments employed 8.4 million teachers and other workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This past May, they employed just 8.2 million — despite public-school enrollments that the Department of Education estimated have risen by more than 1 million students during the same period.

This is a year in which Floyd County voters are being asked to borrow $87 million for new school buildings. The cost to do this equals more than 20 cents per $100 in adjusted property tax valuation.

I have to ask - when this referendum is rejected by the voters, will its supporters join to ask voters to pay that much toward instruction for our children?

That is the real question - not whether we love our children and support our schools, but whether we should be increasing local school funding instead of building new buildings.

Lack of Transparency Sinks Referendum

Unlike most, if not all of the candidates for the At-Large School Board seat in Floyd County, I have not been persuaded that the November referendum to raise $87 million dollars for capital improvements is the wisest choice for voters.

I'm running for school board explicitly to give voice to the multitudes in Floyd County who love our children and want the best for them when it comes to schooling. Many thousands of those people, however, aren't persuaded that this plan is the best or the only way to provide that.

The slogan of "We  [Heart] Our Schools" implies that anyone who opposes THIS referendum is against our schools. But the NA-FC administration has not made the case for this bond issue.

More importantly, the administration has given voters reason to distrust their priorities and their decision-making.

In my neighborhood, we watched as a fine school was closed (and then sold to a Louisville church). The closure was justified, in part, by saying that the city of New Albany didn't have enough children to fill the schools. The organization "Save Silver Street School" provided accurate demographic information to the opposite effect, but still the school was closed and disposed of.

Now that those statistics have proved to be the right ones, we are being told that we'll need more (and newer) space for the expected influx of new children.

The truth matters, and I believe the WHOLE truth needs to be discussed before we take on decades of debt payments.

There is a reason to build palaces, but the administration won't admit those reasons. If they had done so, if they paid attention to facts instead of dreams, I might have been convinced to support this debt referendum. But in the current case, I can't trust what they tell us.

That, among other reasons, is why I am offering my name as a candidate for the school board in the at-large seat. Those of us who oppose taking on $87 million in new debt and handing it over to this administration deserve a candidate who remembers that the Superintendent works for the School Board and not the other way around.

I do not question the good will of the many who are voting Yes to this new debt. I will not disparage other candidates for the school board who are urging you to take on $87 million in new debt. But I do offer you, the voters, a choice in the at-large school board race. I will be voting No on this referendum. And yes, those of us who do so love our schools and our children just as much as the PAC and the board members urging you to take on all this debt every year for the next few decades.