EDITORIAL: School budget vote lesson: Stay modest

Tuesday's overwhelming approval of school budgets - 114 of 124 succeeded - holds a lesson for school officials. Keep the increases modest, and you will keep the voters' trust.

Spending grew by an average of just 2.36 percent. Many districts actually cut spending. Superintendents and teachers unions agreed to wage freezes in a number of schools, often saving jobs in the process. Voters recognized their arduous effort.

The average property tax increase Islandwide is projected at 3.4 percent. Where schools diverged from that - in Elwood, for example, which asked for a tax hike of more than 7.2 percent - voters hit the reject button.

Still, even schools with successful budget votes face pitfalls. In some districts, superintendents assumed level spending with last year, even as Albany debates reducing school aid. If the legislature agrees to Gov. David A. Paterson's proposed cuts, property taxes could rise more than those schools promised - and voters may feel double-crossed.

Also, with pension and health care costs slated to soar next year, schools will struggle to return to the ballot box with modest increases. Schools and their unions must begin to curtail salary and benefits growth.

Voters are giving high marks for reasonable. hN