fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Commentary: Don’t take right to vote for granted

by HV1 Staff
January 14, 2021
in Op-ed, Voices
3
Dr. Paul Padalino.

By Dr. Paul Padalino

The year 2008 represented a landmark year for politics. Regardless of political affiliation, pundits were amazed to see nearly 10 million more voters pouring into the polls to cast their ballots than during the 2004 presidential election. The largest voter turnout in 40 years, 131 million Americans exercised their right to vote.

It was also a significant year for voters in the Kingston City School District. Out of the 31,395 active voters who reside in our District and are eligible to vote, 23,541 felt it was important to voice their opinion about who would become the next President of the United States.

That same year, the proposed budget for Kingston City School District was turned down by voters in May. The number of voters was 5,312, and the proposed budget was defeated by a margin of 320 votes, or by about 1 percent of the active voters in our district. This truly shows that every vote does count!

New York State requires school districts to hold elections and budget votes on the second Tuesday in May each year. Unfortunately, the voter apathy evident in the Kingston City School District isn’t unique. According to a 2006 study by the Local Government Education Committee, a municipal training organization, roughly 14 percent of voters statewide participated in school elections in May of 2006. Last year, 4,197 voters cast their ballots in our school district budget vote and board of education elections. That’s just 13 percent of our district’s active voters.

In Kingston, like school districts across the state, voter turnout is chronically low, which begs the question: are school elections a meaningful democratic process?

Voter turnout tends to be higher in areas of the country in which school elections are held during November, along with other political races. In fact, this valid point was made by one of the community members who attended one of our four school district budget forums. Unfortunately, as with other mandates from New York State, we can change, but our immediate control over this issue is limited.

So what can we control? For one, the district can do a better job of engaging the public in a year-round conversation about education related issues and priorities.

This year, I am proud to say we involved the public in new ways during the school budget development process. For the first time in recent history, we rotated the location of our budget forums throughout different school buildings in our community, instead of just one location. We also began live-streaming our budget meetings and budget forums. The events were broadcast on local public access Channel 20, with the videos archived and available for playback on our website. We established “Setting the Record Straight,” an avenue for people to submit anonymous questions to the district and get answers to questions they had. We conducted an online poll about the budget priorities of the community, and were grateful to receive over 800 responses to that questionnaire.

I am currently in the process in evaluating the effectiveness of these efforts, with the goal of continually improving my communication with the community.

As I have been superintendent for only four months, I consider these efforts to be just the beginning of a dialogue with the community. I embraced the challenge of beginning my position as superintendent in January, which coincided with the beginning of the budget development process. However, engaging the community about their educational priorities is, and will remain, a yearlong effort on the part of the Kingston City School District.

Page 1 of 2
12Next
Tags: CommentaryKingston City School District budgetKingston Times CommentaryPaul Padalino
Before you click away... grab a free month of HV1. Get unlimited access. Get the news you've been missing. Get connected to your community. Keep local journalism alive at $5/mo., or cancel anytime. And enjoy summer!
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

John Medeski & Amy Helm headline benefit for High Meadow this Saturday

Next Post

Letter: School district encourages low turnout

HV1 Staff

Related Posts

It’s High Summer in the Catskills, here’s a few things to look out for
Columns

It’s High Summer in the Catskills, here’s a few things to look out for

August 11, 2022
The sky only looks blue
Columns

The sky only looks blue

August 11, 2022
State-run vaccination site at Ulster fairgrounds set to open Friday
Columns

Ryan makes his run

August 10, 2022
Special election, abortion rights, rent control and more letters from readers
Letters

Special election, abortion rights, rent control and more letters from readers

August 10, 2022
What the newspapers said 100 years ago
Columns

What the newspapers said 100 years ago

August 7, 2022
My great-grandfather the candy cruncher
Columns

My great-grandfather the candy cruncher

August 7, 2022
Next Post

Letter: School district encourages low turnout

Please login to join discussion

Trending News

  • Mayor encounters “biggest black bear I have ever seen” 1.7k views
  • Sawyer Ice Cream is your grandfather’s shake shack 1k views
  • Phony crosswalk covered over 0.9k views
  • Senior living facility shows unwillingness to pay recreation fees 658 views
  • Development vs. conservation: Glasco Turnpike plan aims to strike a balance 576 views







Latest HV1 Podcast

Weather

Kingston
◉
70°
Mostly Cloudy
6:04 am7:56 pm EDT
Feels like: 70°F
Wind: 1mph W
Humidity: 64%
Pressure: 30.01"Hg
UV index: 0
TueWedThu
86/59°F
81/57°F
84/57°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Ulster County COVID-19 Active Cases

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing