Friday, February 13, 2009

Another Letter Supporting the Referendum

There’s another letter to the editor in the West Bend Daily News supporting the upcoming school referenda.  Sorry, but it’s as overwrought as the last one I fisked.  Let’s take a look:

   This community has proven that it is fiscally conservative. This school district has proven that it is fiscally responsible by doing more with less. These are basically good things. Now it is time to do another good thing. Give our school district a chance to do more with more.

Did I miss something?  Was these some spending cut that slipped by me?  Last time I checked, the district’s budget has increased every year.  They haven’t done “more with less.”  They’ve done more with more, or worse, less with more. 

The original referendum that was shot down last fall was big.

Actually, it was the fall of 2007. 

It would have propelled our district into the 21st century as a leading educational facility in Wisconsin, accommodating our evergrowing student population, retaining some of the excellent teachers we now have. It was a vision for our children and grandchildren and a district with safe buildings.

Wow.  Recall that the referendum to which she refers was $119.3 million before interest.  It was voted down by nearly two to one.  What frustrates me with statement like this is that it’s completely divorced from reality and has an underlying insult to those who voted against the referendum.  That massive referendum would have certainly dumped a lot of money into buildings, but it didn’t have anything to do with teacher retention.  She also assumes that such an extravagant expenditure was necessary for good schools as if there wasn’t any other way to do it.  As if buildings define the quality of the district instead of what happens inside them.  As if the two-thirds of the people in our community who voted against it are somehow opposed to good, safe schools. 

It strikes me that this writer swallowed the district’s spin hook, line, and sinker.  Fortunately, most of the people in the district were more reasoned. 

Now it has been whittled down to the very basics of safety.

Really?  “Very basics of safety?”  Um, no. 

For years we have chosen programs over issues in the maintenance of our school buildings.

Yes, for years the district has been negligent in the upkeep of the buildings.  I agree with that, but I don’t think it was to pay for more or better programs.  Consider that the district has about 1100 employees.  That’s about 1 staff member for every 7 kids.  And only about 500 of those are teachers.  Personnel costs are about 85% of the budget.  Think there might be a tiny bit of fat in there that could have been used for maintenance?

But infrastructures can only last so long before deteriorating. (I’m not one to think in terms of worst-case scenarios, but I am reminded of a bridge in Minnesota.)

Seriously!?!?  Talk about your dire overwrought statements.  Last I checked the bridge collapsed because of faulty design - not because of a lack of maintenance.

For me passing the school referendum is a moral decision.

Yes, and those who oppose the almighty referenda are immoral.  Again, this is the same road that supporters tried last time.  Instead of engaging people on an intellectual level and selling them on the necessity of the referendum, they portray it as a moral issue (“it’s for the children”).  It’s not the best of selling tactics. 

And it is personal. It is to all of us. My children have attended parochial school here in West Bend and two of them are now at the public high school. So our world extends beyond the small school. We are part of a bigger community. One of my fifth grader’s best friends goes to McLane. My friends and neighbors have children at Badger, Silverbrook and McLane schools. How can I vote against them? How can I look my friends and neighbors in the eye and say, “Our kids just aren’t worth it”?

My head is going to explode.  I’m going to go over to her house and ask for $500 to pay for some of my kids’ school tuition.  If she says “no,” I’ll say, “aren’t my kids worth it?” 

Seriously, if that is the standard, then why not make the referendum $500 million?  $1 billion?  Aren’t our kids worth it?  Ridiculous.  It’s not about that.  It’s about whether or not the money that the district is asking for is needed, whether it is a good expenditure of funds, whether the taxpayers can afford it in this economic climate, and whether there might be alternatives.  Sorry, but emotional pleas don’t work on me when you’re trying to take more money out of my pocket. 

Suzy Wedeward

   West Bend

Thanks for playing, Suzy.

(4) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0626 hrs


  1. Owen, I’m wondering who this “suzy” is.  You should be able to do a “Joe the Plumber” search on her to find out the real reason she supports this vote.  These people think they can make all these outrageous claims and not be called out for it.  Get to work boy!!!  It’s time we pull the plug on being “nice” and give the other side a taste of their own medicine.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2009 at 1029 hrs


  2. I’ve said it before I’ll keep saying it - buildings have nothing to do with the quality of education. Hiring and retaining GOOD teachers, and removing the not good teachers is the key.

    Why the focus on buildings? Why isn’t the focus on teachers - which is 99% of the equation?

    And yes - I taught for 10 years.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2009 at 1124 hrs


  3. If she sent her kids to parochial school she would know that the building does not make the school. I got a top notch education in the basement of a church. Teachers and parents make the education not the building.

    How dangerous is West Bend by the way? Do you really need security entrances?

    Posted by fishaddict on February 13, 2009 at 1440 hrs


  4. You don’t understand. Security entrances are all the rage. We do not want to become the laughingstock of the education community just because it is unneeded and we can’t afford it. Seriously though, shortly after I moved to this fine city (2000), we passed a referendum allowing expenditure of one million dollars above the state cap for the supposed repairs that were delayed and every year I keep hearing about how poor shape the schools are in. What gives>

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2009 at 1639 hrs


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