With the setting sun throwing long beams of orange light over the scene, about a thousand protesters — teachers, parents and students — marched quietly in swift moving single file in front of Pine Bush High School.

The soft sounds of shoes on cement and the rippling of thin white cardboard signs were about all that could be heard. The signs repeated a number of mantras: "Teachers Want What Children Need," "No More Fable at the Table," "Status Quo Must Go,", "Negotiate — Don't Dictate."

Since this was a protest by the Pine Bush Teachers' Association, it was very well organized, and the discipline held up during the transfer from outside the building to inside the cafeteria, where everyone filed in and packed the house — in near-total silence.

The air of anticipation was like an intense electrical field; you could almost feel your hair rising along with the gathering's emotions.

Then the School Board filed in, lead by Dr. William Bassett, the interim Superintendant of Schools. John "Jay" Anthony, President of the Board, got the meeting underway, and immediately threw it open to public participation.

Carla McLaud, President of the PBTA then made a short but rousing speech, listing the teachers' demands, which essentially came down to asking for their contract negotiations to finally be settled. The negotiations have been going on since October 2006.

As McLaud made her points, the tension in the room exploded with long, loud cheering, and prolonged applause. Once she was done, the crowd of teachers and their supporters left the school cafeteria, marched outside, and held a rally, where more speeches were made to loud bursts of cheering that echoed off the walls of the school.

Inside the cafeteria, the meeting returned to more normal proportions. The dividing wall was put back in place and about fifteen people settled in to hear the two candidates for positions on the School Board present themselves. John Anthony, of course, is a very well known quantity, he being a long-serving member of the school board, as well as its President. Joseph Peluso, the other candidate, has been a resident in the district for ten years, works at the Scotchtown Post Office, and is involved in a number of community activities. Since both are running unopposed, these presentations amounted to their entire political campaigns.

Then the proceedings continued as Dr. Bassett got to the heart of things with a detailed discussion of the school district's budget, which will be voted on by the electorate of the Pine Bush district on May 20th.

It was evident that the School Board and Dr. Bassett and his staff had put in a prodigious effort on this year's budget to keep the cost to the district's taxpayers as low as possible. However, the district has been hit hard by the surge in oil and gas prices and by the failure of the state to provide as much aid as promised.

Several rather difficult, even bitter, truths emerged from this discussion — truths that the taxpayers of the district should take note of before they vote.

First, of the nigh on $100 million in the budget, close to $51 million is provided in State Aid. The taxpayers come up paying a little less than $45 million.

Second, the vast majority of the district's costs are mandated by law and are not subject to any change by popular vote.

Third, Pine Bush is a very thrifty school district. Pine Bush spends $7,280 per pupil, compared to a statewide average of $9,168.

Fourth, and of great concern to anyone analyzing this budget closely, the district is failing to spend enough on maintenance and upkeep of its vast, sprawling campuses of buildings, fields, parking lots and equipment. Sooner or later, that is going to shift from the "serious" column of problems, to the "catastrophic" column. The money simply doesn't seem to be there.

Despite Dr. Bassett's well honed presentation of the situation, and the copious amount of printed material on hand, a couple of voices were raised on behalf of protesting taxpayers — saying, essentially, that the squeeze is on, that while taxes may rise, incomes aren't, and that the net effect may be a flight from the district by those who feel unable to pay more, or who simply lose their homes due to unpaid taxes.

The response to these objections, as voiced by Vice President, Roseanne Sullivan, is that in the real world there must be good education provided to the district's children, and it has to be paid for. If the budget is voted down on May 20, then there will either be a second vote in June, or a contingency budget will be put in place. That would involve a $2.5 million cut in the budget, which would mean immediate and drastic cuts in sports and activities, and even a loss of teachers, which will result in larger class sizes.

It's a painful choice, and it will be made by the voters next Tuesday, who will have from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. to cast their ballots.

Meanwhile, the teachers and their supporters are waiting for progress on the issues that have held up their contract since 2006. It's hard not to feel that the Pine Bush School District, as successful as it's been in its prime function — providing education to a large student body — is passing between the proverbial rock and hard place with little room to maneuver.

The next Superintendant of Schools, being sought for at this very moment, will need both considerable skill and a large degree of patience and understanding as he or she comes to grips with what is becoming a rather difficult situation.

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