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I'm not sure if I am doing this right, since I have never posted before.
I have been following the forum for quite sometime now.
I'm not sure, but I don't think Ms. Fort's allegations regarding Mr. May
was part of the vision of this forum. I assumed that it was created for
thoughtful, respectful dialogue that would attempt to further discussion
on issues and current events. Perhaps my understanding is incorrect.
Regardless, despite Mr. Kirschmann's implication that the public has
not been given a complete accounting of the aspects of the Lincoln
relocation, I believe that there has been a vast amount of information
made available and some of your questions can be answered by going
to the District web site. You could also find a lot of those answers
by accessing archived articles by the online versions of both our local
papers, the Winona Daily News, and the Winona Post. I would assume
that those who have such a distrust would be following everything the
district does very closely and are probably just as familiar with it as
board members. Believe it or not, there are no conspiracies afoot but
I will admit that we obviously need to communicate better. We sometimes
take for granted that people are staying informed by watching the meetings
and not just getting snippets of information from the papers or from the
rumor/speculation mill. We work very hard and spend a lot of time for
this community, and we certainly aren't in it for the money or adoration.
So why do we serve? For me, it's because I love this community and care
about the children here. We're doing our best, sometimes you may disagree
with the decisions made but you don't have to get insulting or nasty. I'm
a taxpayer also, what we do affects my household budget, and my children, it
also affects my extended family members who live here and my friends.
I take all of that very seriously.
I would like to see all discussion in this community be elevated to much more
respectful dialogue. I will try to answer questions that you may have but first
I would refer you to the web site:
Mike--in regards to staff time in planning and moving, I don't know if that
is really available, much of that was done on their own time. I know that the use of a
semi was donated for ECFE/ECSE move.
Linda--The Lincoln building was sold for $700,000, which was the appraisal for the land, for
the building to be used, it would have cost a few million dollars (I'd have to check
the paper archives to see what WSU had told them it would cost--don't remember
offhand). The district would have had to spend that much over years eventually, or
if it was put back into use for students, it would have had to be spent before they
occupied it in order to meet code specifications. When you say it was sold for such
a small amount, what are you using for comparison (it is much higher than the what
the old WMS was sold for and about what the county sold the Plaza building for--which
is a much newer building.)?
Susan Brown
-------Original Message-------
Date: 01/30/06 10:12:00
Subject: Re: [Winona] alc
I will never comprehend why the Lincoln building was sold for such a small amount. Now we need* another building? we just sold a building.
Any trust the board and administration may have gained from some voters is going to be lost with this type of behavior.
And just how does Ron May fit into all this? Is he someone's friend on the board or administration? Seems all a bit too convenient to me.
Yes, Mike the public needs to know all this and more.
Linda Fort
[Winona Online Democracy]
What is the total cost of selling and moving various departments out of Lincoln, including the chain of events which that sale has triggered? Who can give us those numbers? Kelly, can you?
Those costs should include the renovations to Goodview, the WSHS, the cost of staff time in planning and moving, the move out of the ALC, ect. It's time the public was given a complete, accurate, and public accounting of the true cost of this move.
Where does it end?
Mike Kirschmann
[Winona Online Democracy]
The section of Minnesota Statutes that authorizes charter schools is Section 124D.10. Subdivision 2 of this Section defines who may attend a charter school and it authorizes charters to limit their enrollment to certain categories of students if they wish. A portion of Subd.9 follows: "Subd. 9. Admission requirements. A charter school may limit admission to: (1) . (2) people who are eligible to participate in the
graduation incentives program under section 124D.68; or ."
Section 124D.68 defines the conditions wherein students may enroll in a variety of alternative learning programs including ALCs (defined in Section 123A.05)
It is clear that a charter school may be created and enrollment in that charter school may be limited to students who would otherwise qualify to be enrolled in the ALC. In short, a charter school may function as an ALC and may contract with area public school districts, just like our present ALC does.
(I guess that uses up my two posts for today...)
-Leslie Hittner
> I need to all of my homework before I can way in on Leslie Hittner's
> second suggestion.
>
> But regarding the first. Over the past 13 months I have visited
> Dakota Charter about 6- 8 times and Ridgeway three times, as well as
> all of our grade schools, and middle schools and the high school
> several times. Realted to this discussion - I haven't been called on
> by Ridgeway to visit as often - but have made myself available.
> Generally I support charter schools. We may send Alma to Ridgeway,
> but that decision at this point is based mostly on proximity to our
> home. But 4 years is a long time from now.
>
> As I understand, and I am certainly open to being better educated -
> state pot or not - we taxpayers subsidize the lease payments at about
> $500,000 to these schools. And while we receive help from the state
> for busing and special ed - at the end of the day SD 861 carries more
> of the weight of these costs via ratio comparison, even after state
> aid. Part of this is due to the fact that SD 861 MAY have more to
> offer in terms of special ed, just due to the fact of the sheer
> numbers we realize. A classic under-funded Catch -22.
>
> My biggest concern and issue with charters - is that charters are
> promoted by but under-funded by the state. They must be funded 100%
> by the state - so that the "main" school doesn't have to absorb the
> hidden costs of busing and special ed in the tune of thousands and
> thousands of dollars. Leslie, I may be wrong here and I appreciate
> your respectful input and thoughts to better educate me - but this is
> what I understand after studying the issue.
>
> I will carefully study your idea of chartering ALC, and along with
> the Cotter idea, and off-peak scheduling will run it by ALC
> personnel and others for feedback.
>
> Leslie - down the road I would appreciate it if you can report back
> on journal based research that speaks to your idea of a charter -
> ALC. If not research based - then at least some lay person research,
> or at barebones - some examples of other districts using this model
> in our state, region, or nation. That would help me to understand
> and perhaps later advance your argument for consideration.
>
>
>
> Kelly
>
>
> --
> Kelly Herold, PhD
>
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