Three of the five people polled by a Post-Star reporter Monday said they were not following the school budget process in their community.

Since voter turnout is often 15 percent or less, we know turnout will be far worse than what our straw poll indicated.

Considering school budgets have a direct impact not only on the quality of education local students receive, but the size of your property tax bill, it is mystifying why more don’t pay closer attention and vote.

You have the opportunity to rectify that today with budget votes and school board elections being held all across the region.

We already know that many of you are going to say you don’t have enough information to make an informed decision.

Thanks to Post-Star reporter Michael Goot, we can provide that information.

In Sunday’s Post-Star, we provided readers with a detailed chart to give residents in each community the total amount spent on the budget, the increase in spending and how much the tax levy is increasing. We also provide details on whether programs and staff positions are being added or eliminated. It’s a pretty good snapshot of the budget and would take most people less than five minutes to read.

We have put the information conveniently on our home page at poststar.com to make all the budget and school board information available before you cast your vote as a good citizen.

The good news is that this appears to be one of the least controversial years in recent memory.

Increases in state aid last month allowed every school district in the region to present a budget that was under the state’s 2 percent tax cap.

What’s even better news is that many school districts are proposing restoring programs and positions after years of cuts.

Thank the tax cap for that.

New Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan has made making it permanent one of his priorities over the next three weeks.

The Empire Center for Public Policy, a non-partisan, independent think tank located in Albany, will present findings this morning on how the tax cap has impacted New York’s school property taxes.

We’re looking forward to seeing their findings, but a quick look at our charts makes it obvious. Schools across the region are unwilling to go over the cap, giving them a starting point to hold spending increases to a minimum. That has been beneficial to taxpayers. But it has sometimes come at a cost in staff and programs.

Despite declining enrollment, legacy costs for retirement and insurance continue to drive budgets upwards, although not as steeply as past years because of stock market investment gains.

The reality is that spending is still going up, but that the tax cap has slowed it. From the $56,000 in increases at Abraham Wing to the $1.55 million at Glens Falls, each school district across the region will be spending more next year.

Nine school districts are adding positions or programs, three are cutting and the rest are maintaining the status quo.

It is also encouraging to see robust board of education elections in both Granville and Whitehall, although there is some concern that this interest is being driven more by sports interests than education.

Far too often, school board elections are uncontested.

School budget votes allow the community to have a direct say in the value of education and what taxpayers believe they can afford.

It has never been more important to make your voice heard.

Do it today.

© 2015 Glens Falls Post-Star