I know I should be concerned with the details but
quite frankly the numbers keep 'spinning' depending on the writer's vantage
point. It is confusing to most people.
What does matter though is the perception! The public believes that
the board sold Lincoln too cheap and now wants to build elaborate offices in the
high school when there are elementary schools with lot of open
space. Also, one of the greatest assets in the high school is
the concourse and no matter how you spin the numbers. ... people do not
want that space tampered with. Also, people are bitter that the
board did not take the time to develop a process to be inclusive when
making the decision and then refusing to be open to other options when there was
descent.
The board has now got a serious Public Relations
problem in this community and unless we can find some solutions you can wager a
lot of money that the referendum won't pass. I am suspecting that the
school board is not aware of all the negative buzz out there or they would be
doing some serious damage control
I am sad that the kids are the ones who will suffer
because of communication problems between the board and the public.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 9:00
PM
Subject: [Winona] Attempting to answer
Pat Moline's question
[Winona Online Democracy]
Our children, our
treasure
ADVERTISEMENT
By Kelly Herold / Winona
.
I believe this November our community will invest in our
children and support the teachers and staff who dedicate their lives to
helping our children shine. Witnessing our treasures perform at concerts, FFA
functions, science projects and this past Sunday at the Steamboat Days parade
is humbling. While standing in the hot sun sharing a sticky frozen fruit pop
with my 15-month-old daughter, I saw more evidence that Winona is a great
place to raise a family: thousands of families affirming our strong sense of
community pride. Year after year, we witness our children playing sports,
dancing, acting, singing or doing well academically. At these times, our
entire community's spirit is lifted while rooting us deeper in our love of
this community. Witnessing the educational growth of our children helps us
reflect on our values and our hope for the future. So with Alma sitting on my
shoulders, drooling her frozen pop-up down my neck, the obvious occurred to
me: Those children performing under those band uniforms are our treasures. Our
investment in those uniforms, instruments, teachers and the tools needed to
help our students learn to read, write, think and perform is money well
spent.
Planning for 2025
As a steward of the community's dollars,
I believe that planning with an eye on the future is important. Effective and
efficient investments are needed to help our children compete with the rest of
the world. We need to go beyond Cadillac versus Chevy analogies as we plan for
the next generation of students. (Note about a month ago, GM's lack of such
vision resulted in their stock being assigned junk status and they now have to
lay off 25,000 workers). We can't afford poor planning, falling behind or
financial disaster. For the first time in many years, the school board is
planning for the future through facilities review and capital
improvements.
A step in the right direction
The sale of the
Lincoln building and related capital planning decisions provided the district
with $1,523,000 that can be used to take the first step toward addressing the
many needs of ISD 861. The most glaring needs are the WSHS library-media
center, coupled with the need for a centralized administration. Our relocation
plan uses this money more efficiently to address those needs than any plan
proposed to the board.
I want to explain where the money came from:
$700,000 came from the sale of Lincoln building; $350,000 from the interest
earnings from Winona Middle School bond proceeds; $60,000 from federal
entitlement funds; $23,000 from one-day bond proceeds; $160,000 from
reimbursements on the WSHS water damage and asbestos removal; $100,000 from
restricted fund balance for capital projects; and $130,000 from operating
capital allocations.
Does relocating administration save
money?
Yes, consider these savings over a 10-year period totaling
$750,000:
* $350,000 - Lincoln's operational
cost ($35,000 per year)
*
$400,000 - Buildings/grounds office to WSHS ($20,000 per year
reduction in secretarial costs and $20,000 per year of operational
savings)
In addition, Lincoln would have cost us an arm and leg to
maintain:
* $200,000 for roof repair, boiler and
tuck pointing, and
*
$2 million to bring the building to code.
Will money be spent on
educational needs?
Yes, most of it will be spent on children.
Approximately $700,000 will be spent to update the library-media center. Last
year, WSHS students only checked out 1,000 books from our part-time library.
Something is wrong. Knowing the library is the heart of a school, it is
obvious our library needs a transfusion. Our media center is equally
inadequate. Remodeling the library/media center so it is on one floor enables
one person to staff the entire library/media center rather than the two-person
staff currently needed. The staff savings in the operational budget would
equal the total cost of the project ($700,000) in less than 10
years.
How much is spent on
relocating staff?
The concourse plan relocates all Lincoln
administrative staff at a construction cost of approximately $447,000, and at
$44.24 per square foot our plan is responsible. Just compare our plan to the
"least" expensive $70 per square foot the county board is considering for the
relocation of its staff.
Thanks for your input
Finally, to plan
ahead we must consider and respect our local history, and we depend on data as
well as community input. So we want to thank the supporters of our schools,
our students, teachers, parents and all others for their input. We appreciate
the spirited give and take. As a result, decisions we make about our
district's educational future are examined more carefully. For example, we
realize the need to minimize the impact of the relocation plan on the
concourse, and we'll do our best to address those concerns. Finally, we look
forward to working with you as we come together to support our bands, athletic
teams, science, math departments, etc., and to provide the tools needed to
help our treasures shine.
Kelly Herold represents District 4 on the
Winona Area Public Schools board. He is an associate professor in the
Department of Communication Studies at Winona State
University. --
Kelly Herold, PhD
Associate Professor of Communication
Studies
Winona State University
Winona, MN
55987
507 - 457 -
5242
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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