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November 5, 2007
:: Election Day 2007 - More important than ever.
This election day, citizens across the USA will exercise their constitutional rights to vote. Across the Gopher State, several local school districts have tax levy referenda on the ballot. One of those districts is in our hometown of Lakeville, ISD# 194. Three ballot questions will determine whether or not Lakeville Schools will continue budget cuts or end the nightmare and properly fund our schools.
If only the renewal (question one) passes the district would still need to cut about $1 million for the 2008-2009 school year and over $5 million the following year. Any cuts are in addition to the $7 million+ cuts made to the budget this school year.
If questions one and two fail we would be in a situation even worse than this year. Cuts of approximately $7 million would be necessary. Approximately 115 full time employees would be cut.
Some Proposed Cuts Include:
* Larger class sizes. Up to 35 students are possible at the elementary level.
* No early bird at high school.
* Dismantling of team concept at middle schools.
* Loss of electives and double literacy at middle schools.
* No bussing in a 2 mile radius for all grades.
* 50% cut in staff providing direct support to students and teachers: deans, learning specialists, media specialists, gifted specialists and guidance counselors.
* Nearly $600,000 in cuts and fee increases to co-curricular activities.
* Staffing reductions in special education.
* No 5th grade band.
* Elimination of over 25 support staff and custodian positions.
* Increased parking fees.
If question three fails the district would be forced to use funds from the operating budget to update technology to meet the state mandates for testing. This means available money used to keep class sizes down and fund transportation would decrease to fund technology.
I attended a levy Q&A meeting hosted by the district a couple weeks ago. It ended up to be the launchpad for the opposition's campaign. People in attendance who were clearly against "Giving the school district a pay raise" (it has nothing to do with pay raises) were launching several vollies of misinformed and accusatory questions to Superintendent Dr. Gary Amoroso. Some of the most laughable questions came from a middle-aged woman who was rudely vocal to Amoroso. She said her kids were all out of the school system, so none of the budget cuts would directly impact her family (easy stance). She then laid out some high points in her laundry list of line item budget critiques. These included the protest that "so much money" is spent on ESL programs, and a similar protest of money spent on early childhood education. "Those are the programs that should be cut."
Over the last few weeks, reading letters in local papers and watching the oppositions campaign finally come out in the form of condescension and misinformation ("Be WISE - VOTE NO!), I became familiar with a name - Diana Bratlie. She and her husband Mike have headed up the opposition's campaign (or, I can only assume they have, as their address is listed as the HQ for the Vote No folks). But Bratlie is no stranger to the local political scene. Her past includes volunteering for the John Kline campaign (she was the source of much mudslinging against Coleen Rowley), being a vocal part of the "SWIG" group (Stop Waste and Inefficiency in Government) for Dakota County, and being a regular writer of letters to local papers. She has been on her soap box so much in Lakeville This Week Life and Times in fact, that she boldly told the editor this August, "I will be happy to regularly provide a logical and well-reasoned counterpoint to editorials and letter writers. I am available on a continuing basis so that your paper will at least have a semblance of fairness."
Maybe she just wants to be editor herself? Ms. Bratlie - does a semblance of fairness include cutting school programs that you know nothing about or even care about, simply because it increases your property taxes? Is it fair to ask that the schools become better and "more accountable" when due to budget cuts borne of your campaign to stop the levies, Lakeville students fall more and more behind in testing, skills, and resources in education? Is it fair to mudsling and condescend with fact-less claims in your "Be Wise" campaign?
Simple answer to these questions - no. A simple response to Ms. Bratlie and her brand of citizenry is to VOTE YES THREE TIMES TOMORROW IN LAKEVILLE!!
Edited 11:45pm
By the way, Diana, I heard you on Jason Lewis tonight after I made my post above. I am 99% it was you. Does it make you feel good to get on that show and aid that pompous, self-righteous neocon in promoting the garbage he spews out each night? I had to keep turning down the volume because all he was doing was yelling. Nice "talk show". I bet you also appreciate the fact that he takes the liberty of calling other people names (such as 'idiot savant' and the like), but will not stand for being called names himself.
What really made me understand your colors was your comment, "It makes me think that the entire MEA has sponsored this whole thing." Good move. Get on with a talk show host known for union busting and union hating and light the fuse. Then you launched that nauseating game of gotcha semantics with the "may" and "will" so on and so forth with regard to the class size question.
I think even your sanity alarm went off a bit when you had to tell him that Lakeville residents are "well meaning, well intentioned parents". You are correct. Where you are wrong is that we are being misinformed by the district.
(If you want to listen to the Jason Lewis show's 5pm hour from yesterday, take an antacid, or pour a stiff drink - or both - and follow this link.
Posted by pierre at 4:22 PM