[Winona Online Democracy] The discussion over the past couple of days about administrative salaries has been interesting, but I don't think the topic has much practical value in solving the problems we face in public school financing. I'm reminded of Joliene Olson's voice-of-experience comments about receiving well-meaning but off-the-wall (I'm paraphrasing) input from members of the public, who often lack much firsthand insight into how the system actually works. I think it's great to try to think creatively to solve problems. I also think too much creative thinking can sometimes be a way of avoiding unpleasant realities. If Winona really wants to continue to have a high quality public school system, the unpleasant reality is that it's going to mean increased taxes, at least to an average level among other comparable MN cities (such as those in the Big Nine athletic conference, among which we rate last in local educational funding). I'd also encourage Pam and others with similar concerns to talk with Dr. Eric Bartleson about his many responsibilities as Superintendent. All District staff with whom I've talked in the past year feel fortunate that we were able to attract a new superintendent with Eric's intelligence, follow-through, experience and communication skills. Pam, I'm pretty confident Eric would welcome a serious conversation with any member of the community who is concerned about the future of our schools. I think you might be surprised at the number of hours he works, his educational background and experience, and the breadth of his duties. The larger point is that it's often penny wise and pound foolish to try to save money by offering low compensation, whether you're talking top, middle or bottom of the organization. I think the same is true for teacher's salaries. The teacher shortage is a real problem already in certain subject areas, and it's predicted to get worse. We only hurt ourselves by trying to get by with offering low salaries. One last point for tonight, in response to Jeanne Meyer's well-meaning thoughts about grants. There was some discussion about grant-writing last spring, including the idea of gathering a committee of volunteers and staff with expertise and/or interest in pursuing grants. I don't know how that evolved, but again I don't think this is going to pan out as a major solution to the problem. Most funding organizations want to provide time-limited, startup funding for specific, innovative types of new programing. On the other hand, what Winona Schools are struggling with right now and into the near future is basic, on-going, "meat-and-potatoes" services. Most of the "special" programs we do have are already funded through specially-earmarked budgets, the District Foundation, or other "creative" sources. For most of us "in the trenches", we are struggling to do the job that we know needs to be done with added responsibilities and diminished resources. IF we had stable funding, many of us would then be able to devote time and energy to program innovation and develop grant-funding sources. I don't think the survival mode nurtures creativity, any more than low salaries nurture professional development. Scott Lowery 461 Sunnyview Drive, Rollingstone MN 55969 home phone: (507)689-4532 school phone: (507)453-3888 home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] school email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Albert Einstein "You can fool too many of the people too much of the time." James Thurber ---------------- This message was posted to the Winona Online Democracy Project. Please visit http://onlinedemocracy.winona.org to subscribe or unsubscribe. Please sign all messages posted to this list with your actual name. Posting of commercial solicitations is not allowed on this list. Report problems to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
