No need for state to have say in school referendums

Sometimes, when things are working well, you have to wonder why people want to change the way things work. Such is the case with lawmakers in Madison, who want to have a say in when local school districts can hold referendums. A bill under consideration would prevent Wisconsin school districts from holding a referendum for two years after voters reject the first proposal. The bill also would force any Wisconsin public school which wanted to hold a referendum to do so only in the spring election, or the general election, held in November every two years. There is no reason for Madison to be involved in this. Whether to hold a school referendum, or when to offer a revised referendum that may find more favor with voters, is strictly a local issue. Locally elected representatives of local school boards make the decisions affecting their district. If a majority of board members think a referendum asking voters for more money to fund education should be held, then the language is written and presented to local voters. If a simple majority of voters in the district say yes, the referendum is approved. In each step of this process, it is the local citizens making decisions that affect them. What could be more democratic than that? We don’t need Madison to tell us to do it differently, because the process works just fine right now.