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When I made my posting and made the statement
about our district being small enough to consider all schools part of "the
neighborhood", I really did mean it and I did include Dakota, and Rollingstone
in my thought process.
If a neighborhood school means only a school that is within a few blocks of
one's home, I realize that the concept I suggest is in error. However, if
you go to a large community like Rochester, Duluth, Mpls, St. Paul, Madison,
Milwaukee, or even much smaller places than Winona where consolidation has
occurred you will find that one town has the elementary program and the
neighboring town (10 or more miles away) has the high school
program. In this context, then the distance from Dakota to WK (one
example) begins to seem less of an issue and WK can look more like "our
neighborhood school" if we are willing to make it so.
The people in all of these cases, loved their local schools and yet,
make it work. Why can't we do the same in Winona? Why do we make the
adult perceptions/politics of NIMBY (not in my back yard) the focus and not the
children. Why do we deprive our children of the things that they need to
keep buildings open? Why can't we get beyond the "it's ok for them but
don't touch my territory" mentality?
Now, about the statement about being money available. I agree that
the shortfall is what "no new (state) taxes" looks like. I agree that most
of us feel that education of our children is a huge priority. The point is
though that while we wait for those nice but quiet and shy people to get mad, to
get politically active, and for that to occur all over the state we have to pay
the bills and make decisions with what we get now. Not what we would
like to have. We have a lot of people in Winona who feel that "if it was ok
for me, it's ok for my kids and grandkids".
As Gene Pelowski recently told the Public School Foundation, (I will
paraphrase, not quote) that we, the public, at the city, county and school
levels had better get busy and separate what we "have to have"
from "what we would like to have" because the noise level at the
legislature isn't loud enough to overcome the present thinking. Groups around the state must act
together. If you belong to state wide groups, he said, you need to get
them all on the same page and talking at the same time and maybe you'll be
heard. It is one thing to hope things change and another to deal with the
current realities. Will mistakes be made? Probably! Do we need to keep
working? Certainly! But if you truly understand how school financing works, we
can't afford to wait around for things to change. That window is closed in
Winona.
Thank you for reading this far if you did.
Sorry about the length. I bleed Red White and Blue and Public
Schools. I want the best for our kids so we have productive, educated,
students that can go out and "make it" in a world that goes faster
and faster all the time. We need to protect our children and
still make sure of their education. All of them!
Joliene Olson
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