[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
>
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All messages must be signed by the senders actual name.
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