Wyandanch can show what matters

The future of Wyandanch depends on two separate but tightly intertwined efforts. One is the Town of Babylon's push to bring in businesses and jobs to a community that has too few. The other is the search for stability in the school district, too often bogged down in unproductive school board politics and nepotism. If the Wyandanch Rising process is to be more than a hopeful phrase, both efforts must succeed.

Tomorrow, voters will consider a budget and elect two school board members. Picking among board candidates is a risky enterprise, and we won't pretend to do that. Even for those who live in the community, the factionalism and frequent turnover in past years has made it tough to know who the right choices are. Too often, one set of board incumbents has given way to another, with only the cronyism and patronage remaining constant.

Like other high-needs districts, Wyandanch has too few jobs, which makes the school district a key employer -- and tempts those in power to give jobs to friends and relatives. Given the economic distress of Wyandanch, that's understandable -- but unfortunate. It puts the emphasis on the adults, not the kids.

Right now, the district is dealing with a tight budget that will mean more than 20 teacher layoffs. The district is also coping with the aftermath of deadlines that it missed to apply for state aid, oversights that have cost it precious funds. A consultant is trying to sort that out and get reimbursement for past aid that needlessly slipped out of the district's hands. That's a basic competency issue that has to get fixed. There's also the matter of finding a permanent superintendent.

The fragility and instability of the district make every year's school vote crucial, but the voter turnout has been unacceptably sparse. Tomorrow would be a good time to reverse that trend, with large, well-informed turnouts to keep the district moving toward long-term stability.

Meanwhile, the economic development work in Wyandanch has been moving forward on multiple fronts. Perhaps the most visible has been demolition of buildings on property the Town of Babylon owns, in preparation for redevelopment. Unquestionably, the most nervous-making time was the wait for a response to the town's request for developers to express interest. If that response had been puny -- or worse, nonexistent -- it would have been game over. But the town got 15 responses and has chosen three of them to submit competing proposals to act as the master developer of buildings for housing and commercial use. Final selection is a few weeks away.

There's also been progress on moving the county health center to a new site, away from the heart of the revitalization area. And preliminary work is starting up to bring in sewer lines, crucial to attracting businesses to the downtown.

If all this brings in jobs, it could reduce the temptation to use the schools for patronage. But if the district doesn't turn out students qualified to take those jobs, and stay in the community, economic development won't be enough. The whole community has a big stake in tomorrow's vote. Vote!