June 17 is the revote on the failed May school budget. The superintendent and majority of board members continue to double down on their rhetoric of the necessity of assessing Fredonia taxpayers a 1.9% levy increase without delineating any substantive evidence of how and why this is necessary considering New York state aid increased by 8% this upcoming school year. This increase would fully cover the Capital Project approved by the voters last December with an additional 2 percent extra to pad the margin, all at a zero percent tax levy increase to Fredonia residents.

The Fredonia school board majority and superintendent seem to be shrouding the math on this and act like it’s a foregone conclusion that taxpayers are obligated to vote yes for the 1.9% increase because that was the share of the Capital Project approved by the taxpayers last December. Is it just a coincidence that when they were forced to revise the budget, due to the first budget defeat, they came up with the exact tax levy adjusted amount of 1.9 percent? This surely is a cause of confusion.

In advocating for the increased tax rate levy at the board meeting on June 3, the arguments and the numbers put forth by the board if the new budget does not pass were vague, lacked any specifics, and failed to show significant harm and non sequitur. The case would be thrown out in a court of law.

One board member’s logic for keeping the status quo taxpayer cash cow going was that quantitative begets qualitative. The belief that advocating for increased tax levies translates into student achievement and a positive environment is at best a dubious argument.

The logic went off the rails further when the board member advocating for the tax increase made a correlation between a town’s quality of schools and real estate values. There would be some truth in that if a school district as a whole was performing at high standards and exceeding state averages in student achievement, but in the case of Fredonia, they are performing below the dismal New York State averages. For example, the New York state average (2023-24) for proficiency in ELA grades 3-8 is 46% while Fredonia is less at 41%. Well over half of the students aren’t reading at grade level. This stagnant pattern has not changed over the last few years along with a much smaller enrollment. What are the class sizes and ratio of teachers compared to the past?

One thing that is proven is the correlation between high property taxes and lower real estate values. Add in the statistic that Fredonia schools are consistently performing below the state average, while simultaneously taxes and poverty rates climb, then you really do have a recipe for declining home values.

What are these board members thinking? Let’s first get Fredonia Schools back to the top of New York state testing standards like it was as far back as the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s and then maybe you can justify asking for more money.

Throwing money at it for the past 20 years has not worked. You have to ask why do they want to continue to perpetuate a system with failing grades by increasing the tax levy every year. In the real world a failing system that tries to maitain a failing status quo does not last.

The lecture continued by another board member who advocated for the increased school tax levy, stating that taxpayers get raises by their employers to offset the burden of taxes, inflation, and expenses. This assumption is absurd. If anything, people are working longer hours or second and third jobs to make ends meet.

The malformed logic continued with an attempt to make a comparison to the recent significant increase in the village tax where the board member noted the voters had no say in its passage. Considering this member is pushing for an increased tax levy, this makes no sense.

It’s time to start holding those who are advancing the failed status quo to account. Start by voting no on June 17.

William Burns is a Fredonia resident and 1982 graduate.