SOUTH DAKOTA STRAIGHT TALK

Voter turnout in the Sioux Falls School Board election was way beyond disappointing.

School Board Elections are Important! The Sioux Falls School District has in round numbers 20,000 students, 3,000 employees and a $170 Million budget. School taxes make up the largest share of real property taxes. While the money is important, even more important are the students and their education. The role the School Board plays in assuring our children’s education with all that implies overshadows the important financial aspects of the School Board.

That only a little more than 3200 citizens went to the polls is a big civic problem. There were good candidates to choose from, Tuesday’s election was not one of those lesser of the evils elections.

Perhaps there may be several reasons voter turnouts have been low in recent local and special elections. I suspect that voter apathy is encouraged by the coarseness of our politics, the lack of controversy, and complacency.

Beyond us partisans many voters are turned off by the name calling, partisanship, and negativity. Unless an election is controversial, either a personality or a hot button issues, voters stay at home. Finally the general public has become complacent. Because of the government’s seeming inability to address problems, voters are saying what difference who is elected. Why should I take my time to vote?

If we are to have political accountability and if we want our communities to progress, Citizen interest in public affairs needs to improve.