Troy schools make a joke of accountability

Times Union
First published: Monday, May 13, 2002

Your aptly titled editorial about a government entity where tax money just seems to disappear into a "black hole'' served your readers well -- to a degree ("Troy's money pit,'' May 6).

Let's recap. In spite of past Bruno-supplied multimillion-dollar pork windfalls confiscated from other taxpayers to cover prior shortages, the Troy school district has a huge deficit. Troy taxpayers face a 40 percent school tax increase to cover a large fiscal hole uncovered by a recent audit. Millions of dollars have been mismanaged over a span of years with shady accounting and possible criminal fraud.

What your editorial might have pointed out, but didn't, is that Troy makes a lie of the popular and prevailing notion about government and democracy -- accountability to "the people.''

More than any other government agency, schools are accessible, used and relied on by "the people.'' Schools are closer to people, and people are closer to schools than to any other government agency. If local schools are an example of "government by and for the people,'' then we must accept the notion that people actually want schools that fail to perform honestly and competently.

On the other hand, if "we the people'' must pay for a "money pit'' we obviously don't want, does that not make us accountable to government?

WERNER HETZNER

Cohoes