I do not and will not defend current class sizes as I do believe they are very problematic. However, I do want to provide a high level explanation to help further understanding - and better yet, for the generation of new ideas to resolve the current situation.
There are a couple "types" or "sources" of money that go into class sizes, one of which is the referendum money. Technically, all of that money is used to keep class size down. However, there have been huge cuts in the MPS budget ($130+MM in the last couple years). Meanwhile, the Federal and State Governments are as busy as ever providing unfunded mandates. Therefore, the other sources of money that contribute to class size have to be cut/reduced to pay for the unfunded mandates, among other things. The net effect is that class sizes swell. A month back, I posted some short term solutions on the MPS Parents Forum list as well a long term consideration (besides more money) that I think can help the situation begin to right itself. If anyone is interested, contact me off list. More money is certainly one answer. However, we may not get it. Therefore, we have to be thinking of other solutions that can help the situation. Tom Madden Lowry Hill On 11/26/05 6:47 PM, "Dorie Rae Gallagher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Steve in your post you mentioned the different classes and the sizes they > were to be. You also mentioned that the sizes were kept down for a while and > now have gone back up (example class size should be 28- 33 but are back up > to 37). I would understand that to be a vote for a referendum to raise money > for lower class sizes that was not adhered to since the class sizes are not > smaller. > > So we do not know when we vote... if they are really going to use the > money for the reasons given in campaigning. > Dorie Gallagher/Nokomis > > >> Seth from Kenny posted: >> I only voted for the most recent referendum, but I know for certain >> that the actual ballots contained no wording about class size. The >> ballot language only described the technical detail of the tax >> increase. The referendum campaign talked about specific class size, >> the actual referendum did not. >> >> Understanding this distinction is an important lesson for the next >> referendum that we face, be it about taxes, gambling, or same-sex >> marriage. >> >> Brandt: It's also important to understand that the referendum that raised >> money for lower class sizes did not mention class sizes because the state >> law governing the wording of referenda prohibited that >> Steve Brandt >> Star Tribune >> >> >> REMINDERS: >> 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at >> http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, >> contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the >> list. >> >> 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. >> >> For state and national discussions see: >> http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html >> For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract >> ________________________________ >> >> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn >> E-Democracy >> Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org >> Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls >> > > REMINDERS: > 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If > you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at > [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. > > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn > E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
