I don't know exactly how say what I want to say without
sounding (like Ed said) like the neighborhood grouch. But--------
I will ask this question anyway. How many of the
people who are grumping about the transportation proposal, the sports proposals,
the music/drama proposals, the class size and curriculum proposals to
come, etc etc voted FOR the referendum last fall???
Folks, let's be real here. The school district has
cut $2 million dollars a year for the past several years. How many
times do you expect them to cut before things that hurt kids have to
happen??
There is not one person on the school board, the
superintendent, or any of the other people involved in deciding where cuts have
to be made that doesn't realize that these decisions ARE HURTING KIDS!!
They know that!! They agree (as Jim Flim stated) that sports HELP
kids. That music/drama/debate etc HELP kids. That small class sizes
HELP kids.
What do you want them to do? The cuts mentioned so
far are only going to save, maybe, a $100,000 or so. They need to cut
$2 million and then next year turn around and
cut another $3 million. Where are those dollars
going to come from?? OUR kids are being hurt now and are going to be
hurt even more.
I feel just so sad that this community can't see that we
need to do something. The state keeps taking it away. Keeps changing
the rules. By the time the Feds and the state get done there is no real
new money in the formula.
It is going to be the same story this year.
Superintendent Paul Durand says that from what he has heard from the Governor's
proposals etc that we might get $100 per pupil unit. He also says that we
have to get $400 per pupil unit just to maintain. Watch the legislature
and see what they do.
I am sure many of you have already stopped reading and I
know this is a bit long but instead of lamenting about what is going to hurt our
kids, (we already are hurting them) talk about what you can do to help change
the picture.
We can't keep going in the direction we are heading
and expect a different outcome. Bashing and criticizing people who
are trying to do the best they can with what they have to work with the laws
that are in place isn't going to help either.
This community ( public school people, private school
people, home school people, parochial school people, seniors, business
people, University people ) have a lot to lose if we don't step
up to the plate and take care of our own kids. Rochester isn't going
to do it for us, Duluth won't, Minneapolis won't and you certainly can figure
out that the Governor isn't interested.
Thank you for reading this far.
Joliene Olson
