He Said WHAT?
March 16, 2008 by Kate Olson
This is a local issue, but one that is being played out across the US, so I thought it fit here. My district will be holding a referendum on April 1st that will determine the entire future of the district and the education of our children. While I don’t currently live in the district, I do plan to send my children there through Wisconsin’s open enrollment program. I’m really disappointed that I’m not able to vote in this referendum, but I’m doing my best to get others who DO live in the city to vote.
There was an article in my local paper, the La Crosse Tribune, today about the referendum and it gave excellent information about the need for the referendum and the impacts on the district and taxpayers.
There is also a fascinating look at the detail of amounts needed to bring each of the district’s 15 schools up to standards. For example, the middle school I teach in has only 2 boilers, both of which were installed in 1939 - they obviously need replacing!
You can read the article here to get more background on the issue at hand and watch a video that gives an example of the condition of the district’s schools. Check out the comments on the article - some are so infuriating that I can’t even begin to respond to them. Two gems - one is this by “the other guy” (gotta love anonymous comments):
” let’s see: raise taxes, while the economy is declining? spend my hard earned money on things that will never affect me, or anyone in my family? not only will I vote NO, but I will vote HELL NO ”
and “jr3m”
” **administrator**: quit whining. a school is to be used for education, not showing off the district tax payer’s monitary contribution. who cares if the lunch ladys office is small and the library has no natural lighting??? be GLAD that there is lighting at all! VOTE NO! ” (**I deleted the administrator’s name as it is not necessary for this post)
Nice.
And some more *excellent* input:
davidinlse wrote on Mar 16, 2008 9:35 AM:
” Easy, close Hogan, cut administrative staffing by half. Stop the pre-school and all day kindergarden. Let the parents baby sit for thier own kids. Increase class size. BUILD NOTHING. Make a real evaluation, as in independently, of the schools. THEN make a proposal. They seem to have done nothing positive with the increases they recieve yearly. I’m fed up with this nonsense. Look around. All the other schools they closed because of “cost’s” are still in use and productive. Fire the entire upper administration and recall the school board. They are ALL incompetent. “
Splendid.
What fueled my need to write this post, however, was a statement by a member of the committee against the referendum:
“Citizens for Responsible Government of La Crosse County understands that state funding isn’t the way it should be in Wisconsin and “consequently” it is coming back to La Crosse School District taxpayers, said Dick Petersen, Chairman of the Vote No Committee. We are not against quality education, but we want it at an affordable cost to the taxpayer, he said.”
Did you get that? He’s all for quality education, but doesn’t want it to effect HIM………………
Oh, and the projected cost to the taxpayers for this referendum? An owner of a $100,000 house would have taxes increase on average $55 next year.
We can’t sacrifice approximately $55 for safe buildings for our students? Really? I’m scared for the future of my children’s education if this is the case.
While this may be a local referendum it’s the same way across the nation. While state and federal taxes may be an issue for some, our education issues are RIGHT NOW. While we wait for the nation to come to its senses about education reform, let’s start small and take care of the schools at home - it’s the least we can do. And I don’t usually quote Whitney Houston, but I think she says it perfectly:
“I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be“
I’ll leave you with that, as I don’t have it in me to start on all the reasons our communities sometimes fail our children…………
(Note: I vote yes for referendums to support schools and students in the district I live in (but don’t work in) - this is NOT about my job. I’m willing to invest my $$ where it counts.)
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Loved this post! You should mail it to editors around the country for printing in a zillion newspapers. I wouldn’t think you’d get in trouble as this is a referendum in a system you don’t teach in - you’d just be a private citizen with a voice.
In my system we have a levy renewal vote coming up in May - won’t raise anything, just continue with status quo but boy, are the “nay sayers” coming out in droves. If it fails to renew, property owners would save a whopping $35 or so dollars a year for $100,000 property. who hoo!
My state is also looking at cutting allocations for special education in order to fund technology. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Why can’t we get intelligent people who can THINK in positions of powers?
After having spent the several years working with architects/builders to help districts/communities pass bond referendums (amongst other ways of raising funding) to support new construction or renovations of existing campuses, I can tell you that reactions like this are common.
In fact, they are to be expected once you’ve been through enough PAC’s (political action committees) that help support ‘vote Yes’ measures on behalf of school construction projects, ect.
It does not suggest that you should not be disappointed; you should if you really believe the specific measures proposed by the district (and their design/building partners) are the best solutions possible given a) the solutions they considered before narrowing it down to this proposal and b) the economic realities for all community members (including retirees that may be on fixed incomes and have no children/grandchildren in the district, for instance).
Early on in my professional experience working on bond referendums I was given a wonderful bit of advice by someone with far more experience helping ‘vote Yes’ PAC’s accomplish their goals. I was — like you — worried about the negative backlash early on in the process, and I began to wonder if we would actually raise tens of millions of dollars in a very conservative community that hadn’t built a new school in 50+ years (and many thought those buildings were “good enough for me, then good enough for them”).
She said, “The key isn’t to worry about the No votes, or even getting them to change their minds. Most people in the community won’t even show up to vote. What you need to do, instead, is to get EVERY single Yes vote — definite or maybe — to show up on election day.”
Generally such referendums are passed by a matter of 100’s of voters, not 1000’s or tens-of-thousands. With that said, if you really believe in this referendum (beyond the $55/voter/year increase mention), then put ALL of your energy behind getting all the definite and maybe Yes votes out on polling day.
It may be counter-intuitive, but the No votes really don’t matter if the PAC’s really grasp the strategy of passing construction-oriented referendums in most communities. Of course, it helps to minimize the negative backlash by helping to off-set the reactionary comments in public and via back channels such as anonymous editorials/comments.
And remember, many communities have experienced failing on ‘vote Yes’ measures only to come back 2+ years later with a better public proposal/strategy that engenders a larger tax investment. Hard at the time, but over time most communities do the right thing.
Cheers,
Christian
P.S. As for the ’school of the future’ side of things, it is always best to couch the really innovative solutions under the heading of very conservative ‘must-do’ headings. The wish-list of ‘wants’ rarely convinces older voters — in particular — to vote Yes.
Kate-
Get the teachers to man a phone bank calling all the parents of the entire district to get out the vote. Is your teachers’ association involved? Teachers support ed referendums-get a list of all teachers who live in district such as yourself and get them on board too. Plaster daycare centers with a vote reminder-they are future parents of the public system…..Don’t be disheartened…. it is the same everywhere. Gas prices hit 3.50 a gallon here-people get scared. Oh and nice restraint not fixing the spelling and grammar errors in the quotes-I know about your pet peeve-those people should have paid more attention in school!
I Agree with Christian Long’s post about getting to all of the yes votes, the election could likely be determined by a relative few votes.
Hopefully in this school district, emphasis looks beyond facility deficiencies toward successful education for all students. Is planning in place to prepare students so succeed in a digital/global/sustainable world? How are the facilities helping them to get there? It would be easy to imagine that if the boilers haven’t been touched since 1939, that the spaces inside the school could look exactly the same as well.
Also in the post above, I read with amazement the narrow perspectives about the education system. Whether or not one has school aged children, education affects every citizen and is a key component in developing successful communities with thriving economies, robust workforces, and engaging cultures. As the great diplomat, Hector Garcia so eloquently stated: “Education is freedom and freedom is everyone’s business.”
Regards and Good Luck!
Peter
Kate-
Nice post. Unfortunately, I don’t live in the La Crosse School District either. My district’s (Holmen) referendum passed last fall. What frustrates me is the assumption that the ELECTED school board for some reason wants to raise taxes for no reason. School board members are taxpayers and are held accountable by the voters — they don’t go to referendum lightly.
Here are some of the facts that the “vote no” folks seem fine to ignore.
1. The district threw away $200,000 last year on maintenance of boilers, most of which are beyond their life expectancy. Some of these boilers are so old (70 years) that parts can’t be found. When they break, they have to be machined - this increases repair costs and time.
2. Many of the school layouts simply are not safe. The main entrances are not visible from the main office. It is very easy to walk through the front doors and into classrooms without passing by the main office. Also, at least one school (Lincoln MS) does not have an integrated fire system. So, firefighters need to search the school to find the alamr that was tripped…costing valuable time - which would result in much more extensive damage.
3. The two schools that are being replaced need $10 million in repairs. Instead, the school board decided to build a new elementary building at a cost of $15 million. The new school will be “green,” so the district will see a significant decrease in energy costs and will also save in reduced administrative costs. In fact, the cost reductions will pay for the referendum within 15-20 years…
4. When is a good time for a referendum? Do those that complain about the timing really want the district to wait? Right now, interest rates are very low. Additionally, contractors are looking for work. La Crosse SD will get a very competitive bid process that will drive prices down. If they wait, costs will go up…and so will the interest rates.
Finally, as to the comment about getting rid of the administrators… The “norm” in the business world is to have 1 manager for every 7 employees. In education, it is more like 1 administrator for every 30 employees. Most school districts are very streamlined. In Wisconsin, they have been cutting budgets for at least 15 years. There isn’t much left to cut.
But hey, what do I know?