My view: It’s not a problem

I would like to disabuse people of the notion, expressed in some recent letters, that there is somehow a “problem” with the new school board. I go to as many meetings as I can and I have seen this board consistently stand up for the interests of Sullivan West taxpayers and students in a series of difficult and contentious decisions.

First, back in September, the new board wanted to replace the district lawyer. Some on the board showed great loyalty to the previous lawyer, and fought tooth and nail against the change. But that decision led to the revelation that we had paid over $1 million to a litigation lawyer who had done nothing to further the case against the firm that failed to finish the job at the high school. A million dollars that was essentially poured down the sink would have made an enormous difference to this struggling district in terms of schools, staff and programs.

Then came the BOCES ballot initiative, which would have raised taxes to build new classroom space in White Sulphur Springs. However one feels about meeting the needs of BOCES, it’s hard to see Sullivan West voters as being very enthusiastic about this initiative, given how much excess classroom space we are paying off through our high taxes. The issue for the board was whether to use its lawful power to veto the proposal on the spot, or dilute their constituents’ voice in the decision by sending it out for the whole county to vote on. I thought they took a lot of heat and showed a lot of courage by putting the interests of their district first.

This month, there was a vote on whether to close a loophole that would have allowed commercial enterprises to shift their tax burden onto the rest of us. However one feels about tax incentives, the recent abatements granted to the Millenium Pipeline and the Villa Roma by the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) have been a serious blow to our district’s finances. And as I listened to the arguments in favor of using the school district to spur economic growth, I was struck by how similar it was to the thinking that went into building the high school. A big suburban high school (along with casinos and Bethel Woods) was supposed to spur a real estate boom—a gamble that would have paid off nicely if it had succeeded. But when it failed, the taxpayers and the kids were left to pick up the tab. The impulse to spur economic development in our area is undoubtedly a noble one; the question is, who is being asked to foot the bill and for what results?

The situation with the IDA (over which the school board has no control) is a case in point. That the IDA board, which includes the Villa Roma’s banker, the Villa Roma’s insurance agent and the Villa Roma’s peers in the business community, can decide to give the Villa Roma a break on their taxes that will be paid for by the rest of us illustrates a certain way that things are done, both in New York State in general (think of how Albany works) and Sullivan County in particular.

On the state and federal level, this is known as corporate welfare; locally, I think we could refer to it as country-club welfare. Those who get into positions of power try to look out for each other and the rest of us may or may not get a residual benefit. Ironically, this patroon-style use of power is probably more off-putting to outside investors than it is alluring. How well has it been working?

In a system where the businessmen are watching each other’s backs and the auditing firms stand up for the corporation lawyers, who cover for incompetent litigation lawyers, people ought to at least be aware that their local school board has been standing up for the interests of average taxpayers and students.

Doug Rogers

Long Eddy, NY