Tuesday's defeat of the Bedford Central School budget holds a few messages for district residents - and for the school board and administration as well.

Message one: The numbers don't lie. Eighteen hundred and thirty four Voters said "no" to the budget, 500 more than said "yes."

But numbers don't tell the whole story.

While it's true that the 8.5 percent increase over the previous year's budget is well above the rate of inflation, the percentage increase is not out of line With what Other districts around the county were facing. Scarsdale's proposed budget, which passed on Tuesday, was almost 10 percent more than last year's spending plan.

Hastings-on-Hudson's increase was 7.7 percent; Dobbs Ferry was looking at

percent; and Irvington voters had to approve an 8 percent increase. All of those budgets were overwhelmingly supported this past Tuesday.

After Tuesday's defeat in Bedford Central, board President Paul Alcorn said the board is going to meet over the next few weeks to discuss revising - reducing the nearly $67 million budget so that it can be put back to voters in June.

Between now and the board's first meeting about a second budget vote, administrators had better sharpen their pencils and look at every line of that budget.The voters have sent a clear message.

Sure, we understand that the reconfiguration of the middle school will cost extra money, that rising enrollment will add bucks to the budget - and that contractual increases that have,already been negotiated are unavoidable. We know that personnel Costs accounted for 6.1 percent of the proposed-and-defeated 8.52 percent spending hike.

We know that much of the hike voters said "no" to this week was unavoidable.

We think it's not really the price tag, but rather the value for the dollar that the

;1~01.ers were objecting to. And let's face it, value is all perception. . If you don't believe us, try to fathom the marketing wisdom of Mercedes-Benz's latest ad campaign: the car for the value-conscious.

We think the school board and the administration earned a failing grade on their performance of "selling" the nominal 2.4 percent discretionary increase to the community.

Before the next budget is Put to a vote two things have to happen. The board needs to understand that they have to make additional cuts-like it or not-and .budget advocates need to better explain to the community the complexities of our

*district including the fact that Bedford Central is probably the most diverse district in the county. With that diversity comes Costs that other districts don't need to concern themselves with, not to mention the pressures of increasing enrollmem. and:unfunded state mandates. A,*: It seems that Phil Christe's ad, which appeared in last week's Record-Review, ~4id a good job convincing people that a "no" vote on the budget would stern the rising tide of "disproportionate" salary increases in the district. He gets an "A" in marketing. Only problem is, this year's budget has nothing to do with teacher's and administrator's salaries. No matter what the voters want, nothing is going to :ehange that 6.1 percent contractual increase. Not even an austerity budget. . The good news for those who would believe that the present board has not been fiscally accountable, is that a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative will join the board July 1.

Alcorn, -who has served the Bedford community honorably, has been defeated.

Message two: This one is specifically for "no" voters: Listen to what the board and administration have to say about what will happen if a second budget vote is ,defeated and the district goes to an austerity budget, or if the board exercises its legal option and adopts an austerity budget without holding a second budget Vote.

The results of austerity could have far-reaching effects. Equipment purchases will be restricted. Some facility improvements will be delayed.,Programs may be .cut. Community groups will have to pay to use school facilities. None of those -things can be good for a community.

Finally, everyone in the Bedford Central School District should remember that no matter how they feel personally, democracy spoke on Tuesday.

Democracy said that votes matter.

Democracy said that people, one at a time in the non-violent Solitude of a voting booth, can make a difference.

Democracy reminded everyone, including Bedford Central's young, that it is alive and well.

And this time the message having been sent and heard the first time around, the voters should approve a budget for Bedford Central’s children.