[Winona Online Democracy] The Middle School has round corners! OH MY GOD! I've been in that building several times and I didn't even notice! How could such an egregious waste of the taxpayers' money have evaded me!
Seriously, it appears that Linda has not been in that building - her statement is based upon what she has "been told" (unless she is as oblivious to wasteful spending as I am). Her assumption - that it cost more money - is not supported by facts. Her conclusion - that it is representative of wasteful district spending - is based upon hearesay and this unverified assumption. So...does the Middle School REALLY have round corners? How did these round corners come about? Are there advantages to round corners over square (pointed?) corners? What did the round corners cost as compared to square corners? (I THINK the round corners are rounded edges of cement blocks and that they probably didn't cost any more than the square cornered blocks. I THINK that round corners will last longer without chipping out. I THINK that round corners are inherently safer. But I don't know and I have better things to do than to research this particular charge of waste fraud and abuse.) Such charges take on a life of their own, however. Pretty soon it will be a FACT that the round corners in the Middle School cost the district THOUSANDS. That FACT will be used over and over to make a case that the district wasted money in the middle 90s when they built the Middle School and that because they wasted money then THEY OBVIOUSLY ARE NOW! Similar FACTS arose prior to the referendum (Remember the new fleet of luxury cars? Recall the money the district was spending on ground irrigation systems?) On behalf of Bluffview Montessori School, I looked through the piles of desks outside the old middle school. I came away with one desk. It was marginal at best. The rest was junk! I know. I looked through it (I actually got out of my car and walked through it.) I know that early on some of the earlier stuff was taken by other institutions but that was pretty minimal and I suspect the stuff didn't go into brand new or newly remodeled offices. AT WHAT POINT DO YOU REPLACE OLD FURNITURE THAT IS BEYOND ITS USEFUL LIFE? AT WHAT POINT IS THE COST OF REPAIR/MAINTENACE DIFFICULT TO JUSTIFY? That was a call that the district had to make. They made that decision when it came time to place furniture into a new facitity. After a close look at the old stuff, I cannot fault them. Perhaps they should have quietly disposed of it rather than giving community members a chance to look over the scrap for the few things that could be repaired and used. That appears to have been a good thought their part but it was bad PR. Less than 50% of the registered voters took the time and effort to vote on this referendum. Those that did supported question #1 on the ballot. The people who opposed the referendum are now crying "foul." I wonder what the outcome would have been if 80% of the registered voters (including college students) had voted? I guess we will never know. Let's move on. -Leslie Hittner ----- Original Message ----- From: "LindaF" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Online Democracy" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 2:41 PM Subject: Re: [Winona] paying for ad for campaigns > [Winona Online Democracy] > > I didn't say informing a voter was wasteful. If* the funding comes from > private sources, fine, as long as the information given is not propaganda. > I have no idea how long you have lived in this district but it is notorious > for waste. Where to start? First items that come to mind are the piles of > desks, etc that were thrown out on Broadway from the middle school. And I > really don't care if some people would rather we all forget that ever > happened, it did* happen and it was extremely wasteful. > I am told the new Middle School has round corners? How many thousands of > dollars did that add to the building? It seems the district has an easy > time spending the voter/taxpayer money. > oh, you wanted figures, not charges of waste. Well, I don't have those > figures in front of me and you probably knew that when you posted. > I am always amazed that those who are in favor of raising the property > taxes think the rest of us are against 'children'. It has nothing to do > with the 'children'. If you read my column in the daily news it more than > explains how I feel about the WAPS. > Linda Fort > btw, I think the PSEO program is fantastic. > > > > [Winona Online Democracy] > > > > On Nov 17, 2005, at 16:28, LindaF wrote: > > > >> [Winona Online Democracy] > >> > >> the subject isn't really about books>>it's about waste(again). > >> Linda Fort > > > > Linda, how is informing a voter waste? > > > > If it is really about waste, please enlighten my ignorant existence rather > > than retorting with an unsupported allegation that I and many others of > > the community seem to reject continually. > > > > I regard this as another moot point. Had the district not sent fliers > > about the referendum accusations would have flown from the same groups > > that the district was trying to sneak a referendum through. > > > > Waste! That is all I hear! There is so much waste that is alleged. Show me > > figures, not charges of waste. The only waste originates with perennial > > nay-sayers and their seemingly random unsupported charges. The real waste > > is of bandwidth, time, newsprint, and paper by those alleging waste > > without ever seeming to support the charge. > > > > There is so much waste alleged you would think the HS students were eating > > with silver forks and gold trays or that the staff mails platinum plated > > letters with hundred dollar bills enclosed, but this does not occur. > > Instead, the district has shredded the curriculum to the point that there > > is no compelling reason to leave an above average student in the district, > > but to place the student in college through PSEO. > > > > > > > > ******************************************** > > David Dittmann > > > > > >>> [Winona Online Democracy] > >>> > >>> How many books could have been purchased with the money raised for the > >>> new fitness center installed at the HS? What good does a fitness center > >>> do after all? (I am being facetious.) Even though I have not benefited > >>> from this facility, directly, but I benefit indirectly by the student > >>> population being healthier. > >>> > >>> How many books could have been purchased with the funding for the > >>> referendum materials? > >>> > >>> For both questions, the answer is Zero. > >>> > >>> > >>> The donations for the fitness center and the referendum materials were > >>> likely given with the condition or understanding that they be applied to > >>> a specific area. If the school district wishes to maintain public > >>> confidence it would be a good idea to respect the wishes of donors. > >>> > >>> If I send a check to a charity for Pakistan Earthquake Relief and this > >>> charity applies that money to Hurricane Rita Relief my wishes have been > >>> ignored. Take a good guess how many more donations this charity is > >>> receiving from me if that would happen. > >>> > >>> The answer is Zero. > >>> > >>> > >>> The amount of money spent campaigning would not have purchased very many > >>> textbooks. A casual walk into the WSU or Southeast Tech Bookstore will > >>> reveal the high price of text books. Furthermore, this conversation is > >>> counter-productive and the energy should be better spent on ways to > >>> elevate district enrollment levels and not bickering about insignificant > >>> items like campaign materials and suffrage that seem so trivial that the > >>> only logical comparison would be to an individual complaining about the > >>> postage to mail an energy bill, but not the bill. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> David Dittmann > > > > _______________________________________________ > > This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy > > All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. > > No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. > > To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit > > http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona > > Any problems or suggestions can be directed to > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected > > officials, go to the Contact page at > > http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org > > _______________________________________________ > This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy > All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. > No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. > To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit > http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona > Any problems or suggestions can be directed to > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at > http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org > _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
