Aug 30, 2011 By Amy Revak 3 min read

HeraldStandard.com

State Rep. Timothy Mahoney said Monday that a court decision against a school consolidation referendum will disenfranchise Fayette County voters and prevent their voices from being heard on an important issue.

Fayette County Judge Ralph C. Warman on Thursday struck a petition that asked voters to consider consolidating the administrations and school boards of the six school districts in the county, precluding it from appearing on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Warman found that Mahoney’s petition asked to put an advisory question on the ballot, and that the election bureau does not have the authority to do that.

“It was like he discounted the statute,” said Mahoney, D-South Union Township. “What are we going to tell the senior citizens and taxpayers when their taxes go up next year? I think we should ask the two objectors what their ideas are about saving money and doing education right.”

Last week, Robert S. Frasconi of Uniontown and Delinda Young of North Union Township argued the petition did not meet the requirements of the Pennsylvania Election Code and is not authorized by statute. The two argued the question was not binding, which is required of referendum questions under the law. However, an attorney for Mahoney, argued that it was.

The question, attached to petitions signed by 2,629 county voters, read: “Do you support the dissolution of the school boards and administrations of the Fayette County public schools and the creation of a countywide school board and administration to oversee the daily operations and finances of each independent school district?”

Mahoney’s attorney, Daniel L. Webster, had argued the statute under which the request was filed deals with intergovernmental cooperation and also states it would be binding if the referendum passed.

Mahoney said he was trying to take a new approach to funding education in the county. He said he the he plans to press on, and release the results of an independent study when it is completed next month. Once the study is released, Mahoney said he will hold informational meetings to show the taxpayers the potential savings.

Under the law, the ballot question cannot be submitted again for five years, but Mahoney said he isn’t ready to give up his quest to lower taxes and improve education.

Had the referendum passed, it would’ve taken effect after the terms of the current school board members expire.

Young argued that the question was “far reaching” and essentially allowed voters to “un-elect” school board members.

While Webster argued that a majority vote throughout the county would initiate the change to a countywide school board, Warman ruled that the statute doesn’t outline the dissolution of a local government as a whole.

“Even if it were permissible … to dissolve a school district school board and replace it with a county school board, then only those electors in each affected school district could vote on the matter and it could only bind those school districts that approved the referendum by majority vote,” the ruling states.