Many Butler School District taxpayers might accept $10,000 as a reasonable price to pay for keeping the date of the district's graduation ceremony — June 4 — unchanged.

But if the school board opts for a tax increase for the 2010-11 fiscal year, perhaps some of those taxpayers will join others who believe that the district shouldn't shrug off $10,000, however little impact that money might have on the district's overall budget.

There are many district residents, caught up in the troubling economic times, who regard $10,000 as a sizable amount of money. That the district is shrugging off money that could be used, even for some paper and pencils, is cause for the taxpayers to take notice.

The issue is the fact that Butler High's seniors will finish the school year with 179 class days rather than 180. According to school district officials, the seniors not being required to be in school 180 days means the district apparently will lose about $10,000 in state subsidy money.

The school board and administration say the district has exhausted all available days built into the school calendar for possible use as snow makeup days. April 5 and 6, which are on the calendar as spring break days, cannot be rescheduled as inclement weather makeup days because of an agreement between the district and Butler Area Education Association prohibiting elimination of the break.

But there was a possible option that the school board apparently chose to ignore. The district could have held graduation on June 4 as scheduled, but required seniors to report for school on June 7 for a short time to obtain their diplomas — and in the process keep the district from losing the $10,000 that it now stands to relinquish.

The final day for other students is June 7, so requiring the seniors' attendance that day wouldn't have brought about any hardship for the high school.

As this year's seniors — like those before them — prepare to go out into the world to pursue jobs, higher education or military service, they stand at the threshold of a deeper appreciation of whatever financial resources they are fortunate to have for their needs. To many, at least for some years to come, $10,000 will represent a big sum of money.

With that in mind, they ought to be willing to report to school that one last day in a show of support for the district's finances, and the school board likewise should demonstrate to them by way of good example that the loss of $10,000 is not something to be embraced.

But good example is nowhere to be found in the board's decision.

Butler area road crews have responded well to the milder weather, getting a commendable head start on pothole repairs.In fact, considering the amount of inclement weather that pounded the area this winter, Butler area streets and highways are in remarkably good shape, even when compared with some milder winters in the not-too-distant past.Meanwhile, this cheer extends to all residents who have taken advantage of the good weather to begin yard, curbside and sidewalk cleanup. It is to be hoped that, although there likely will be weather setbacks during the next several weeks, residents will continue their efforts to improve the appearance of their neighborhood.The same holds true for businesses in downtown Butler. Cleaning storefront windows and entranceways, as well as the sidewalk and curb area in front of their establishments, will quickly return the businesses to the appearance they had last summer.Brightening up the downtown isn't a formidable task when many people work together and do their part.Easter is April 4. If weather like that experienced for much of the past week continues into April, the time between now and then will provide adequate opportunity for Butler County to put on its best spring face.

Just saying something is so doesn't make it so. That's true even when it's the president saying it.The most recent proof of this adage is found in a report that federal agencies are using exemptions more often than in previous years to avoid revealing information being sought, despite President Barack Obama's oft-repeated vow that he would create a more open and transparent federal government.According to the Associated Press, a review of Freedom of Information Act requests discovered that exemptions used to withhold information went up in 2009.The most popular exemption, saying that releasing government information would reveal internal decision-making, was used to reject information requests 70,779 times in the 2009 budget year. The same exemption was claimed just 47,395 times during the final year of President George W. Bush's administration.Taken together, major federal agencies cited various exemptions in rejecting information requests 466,872 times in 2009. In 2008, that figure was 312,683.Another federal government example of "saying it doesn't make it so" is found in a report reviewing spending of federal stimulus money targeting weatherization. This energy-saving program was pitched early last year as one of those "shovel-ready" programs that would get off the ground quickly, putting people to work and saving energy by adding insulation and installing energy-efficient windows.But the Department of Energy's inspector general found that a year after the controversial $787 billion stimulus bill was passed, the biggest states had met less than 2 percent of their 3-year weatherization goals. Gregory Friedman, the inspector general, called the lack of progress "alarming," but outside the government, most people assumed the work was under way, as promised.A total of $5 billion was targeted for weatherization programs to be implemented by the states. But the report says that bureaucratic delays and the impact of the recession on states caused the program's failure to deliver. And, saying it was a success won't make it so.