Newtown’s voters this week decided the proposed $107.8 million budget presented to them in a referendum on Tuesday was no bargain. The spending plan was rejected 2,569-1,962 at the polls. Unfortunately for local voters, there is no way to directly bargain with town and school budgetmakers. (A system that would have signaled voter preference and intent failed to meet the minimum threshold of support required to make it a part of the town’s governing charter in a vote last year.) So the Legislative Council has to consider a menu of assumptions about the mood of the town as it initiates the process of presenting a new budget proposal for the voters to consider.

There are any number of reasons why the budget may have failed. First, the Republican presidential primary season has filled the airwaves with anti-government, anti-spending, no-new-taxes sentiment that undoubtedly resonates with voters facing economic fears and frustrations. There also has been some resistance to a plan funded in this initial failed budget to extend the time of kindergarten sessions to a full school day. The arguments of the opponents of full-day kindergarten have been sincere and, to many, persuasive. But one of the more compelling arguments made repeatedly by budget opponents was usually presented in the form of a question: Why have school costs continued to increase year after year when school enrollment has decreased significantly year after year?

There may be valid answers to this question having to do with mandates, minimum funding requirements, and obligations we committed ourselves to in previous budgets. But these arguments were never made with the clarity and persistence needed to win the support of a majority of voters. The sad truth is that the school district is no longer able to marshal the committed support for education that it once could. School administrators — once the voice of authority and expertise respected throughout town — have squandered their standing in a series of poorly handled controversies over the school bus transportation contract, special education, and financial transparency. They have found themselves in conflict with school board members, and, unfortunately, they themselves have become the focus of our discussions about education, overshadowing the schoolchildren.

As the town considers a new budget, townspeople will necessarily reflect on the best use of their vote. Should it be used as a punishment to those who have angered or frustrated them? Should it be used to “send a message”? Should it be used to scuttle programs or policies they don’t believe in, or should it support a vision they do believe in? When it comes to determining appropriate levels of education spending, we hope voters remember that children lie at the heart of the issue, not school administrators.