EDITORIAL: Listen to public before making cuts

Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas' administration is wisely seeking public input on the city's new strategic plan. The Valparaiso School Board should do the same on the budget-cut plan expected to be introduced today.

Costas wants public input on the future direction the city will take.

"Rather than an internally driven process, we want to engage everyone in creating priorities for the coming years," Costas said. "Eight years ago we had a long to-do list. Now we've completed many of these projects, (and) it's time to look ahead to needs that are not so ostensible."

Valparaiso Community Schools is no stranger to the public strategic planning process. But now that a $3.2 million budget shortfall has been discovered, it's time to involve the public again.

These cuts will be painful because saving that much money cannot be done without affecting jobs and salaries. That will affect the services being delivered by the school district. The severe budget cuts expected to be introduced tonight are, in essence, a winnowing of options outlined in the strategic planning process.

The longer the board puts off making the cuts, the more severe they must become. However, the value of community comments must not be discounted.

Community feedback tonight, while appropriate and necessary, will be a quick reaction before the plan can be fully absorbed. The public needs time to think about it before giving insightful input.

The School Board should follow the city's lead in seeking public comment before acting on these cuts. Treat this as another step in the school district's strategic planning process, although an urgent and painful one.

Introduce the plan at Tuesday's meeting, but schedule another meeting for two weeks or so from now to gather public comment at a full public hearing before voting on the plan.