DEAREST READER, THIS ONE IS FOR EVERY COMMUNITY WITH A SCHOOL BOND ON THE BALLOT...
Yesterday's trip through Midland and the increasingly popular word "misinformation" sent Lady Budgetdown down another little rabbit hole.
And look what landed on the ledger. 📜
In 2024, the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) published an article titled:
"Backing Your Bond Initiative Without Violating Campaign Finance Laws."
The article explained what Michigan school districts may, and may not do when using public resources to communicate about a ballot proposal.
Buried in that guidance is one sentence every Michigan taxpayer should understand:
"The factual information is not required to be balanced, and there is no requirement for the district to present facts supporting an opposing view."
Read that one more time.
A district can provide information that is factually accurate without providing all of the facts someone might consider when deciding how to vote.
That doesn't make the district's information false.
It doesn't mean the district has done anything improper.
And it certainly doesn't mean every district does this.
But it does mean something important:
"Factual information" and "the complete picture" are not necessarily the same thing.
That matters far beyond Midland. It matters anywhere taxpayers are being asked to approve a bond, sinking fund, millage, or other ballot proposal.
A district may explain why it believes a proposal is needed.
Citizens may examine the debt schedules, audits, enrollment, tax projections, construction estimates, existing reserves, alternatives, and long-term costs, and reach additional conclusions.
Both belong in the public conversation.
Which brings Lady Budgetdown right back to yesterday's ledger:
Government agencies are sources.
Their explanations are information.
The records are the evidence.
The district may be presenting facts.
And there may still be more facts worth knowing.
One housekeeping note for those who tend the receipts:
The MASB article shown below is no longer listed in MASB's current News Center archive. An older indexed copy of MASB's website still confirms the article's title, date and author, and we have a screenshot of the original article containing the passage quoted above.
Why it is no longer available, Lady Budgetdown does not know.
And we don't fill empty spaces in the ledger with guesses. 🪶
With receipts and respect,
Lady Budgetdown