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203 comments:
1 – 200 of 203 Newer› Newest»Sure is nice of the Green Lake Reporter to pretend this issue isn’t happening. The school must really appreciate Kristin for sweeping it under the rug.
Yeah, Kristin, what is up with you? You follow every other local story for the paper. Is this your decision not to cover the school/land issue, or are your orders from higher up? It is obvious the Green Lake Reporter is intentionally staying away from this story. Why?
Green Lake Citizens-please see the last page of the Ripon Commonwealth this week. It shows the offers and the communication the school has received from Lindenwood and the school's responses. Way to go Bates and the majority on the school board! Why are you misleading the public?
Enquiring minds want to know...
Interesting that the school claims “Lindenwood is refusing to respond to us” etc. According to the ad, Lindenwood communicated with the school four times in December and five times in November. It seem the only one benefiting from this nonsense is the school’s attorney, who is more than happy to draw this out even longer.
It looks to me like Lindenwood Development is panicking.
Why else would they be so aggressively attacking the school board, the school administration, and even reporters for the local newspapers?
Whoever is shilling for Lindenwood Development on this blog is congratulating them on a "Brilliant PR move" for putting an ad in the Ripon Commonwealth. Hardly. Anybody with some extra dollars and an axe to grind can buy an ad.
What Lindenwood Development does not want to see is how desperate and mean-spirited this whole thing is making them look, not just to our local community but also to all the people they want to attract to their new development. How is that good PR?
You have got to be kidding. All that Lindenwood did was print the facts. If you misconstrue plain facts as an aggresive "attack" then that does not say much for Ken Bates and the school administration.
I am guessing that you either work at the school or are buddies with certain people there. I would say "nice try" but your blog posting does not even rate as a feeble attempt to cast the blame at Lindenwood. In case you can't tell, there are many people on this blog who are siding with Lindenwood on this issue. Ken Bates, Wendy Schultz, Gordy Farrell and the others responsible for these ridiculous, wasteful actions and unreasonable demands on the part of the school should be seriously reprimanded. There is no way that anyone with a brain and some ethics could say that Lindenwood has acted desperate or mean-spirited. They have done more than necessary to try to appease the terrorist demands of Ken Bates and his flunky gang of brown nosers.
Lindenwood panicking? Absurd. The heat is entirely on the school because people are starting to realize the truth and become fed up. Here’s what the School Board and Administration have accomplished:
1. Six months of wasted time
2. Over $10 grand spent on legal fees alone
3. Demanding the plat’s most valuable housing lots, when the idea is to provide reasonable green space for the public to use
4. Refusing to accept a different land offer and move on, when clearly several have been provided
5. Acting on their own “green” dreams and fantasies rather than being fiscally responsible and listening to the public
6. Pretending Lindenwood isn’t cooperating, when all along it’s the school that has a pie in the sky attitude about what land they should be given
7. Becoming indignant and making accusations of “panic” when Lindenwood explains their side of the debacle in the newspaper. The school supporters conveniently don’t mention how Ken Bates did the same thing last week in his own column.
8. Getting even more indignant when, after over six months, Lindenwood goes back to the County to get this fiasco settled because enough is enough
Maybe the school is afraid of people seeing both sides of the issue.
The 10:25 blogger obviously did not see the back page of the Ripon paper, or they never would have made such a ludicrous comment. Lindenwood did exactly the right thing by placing this information in the newspaper for all to see.
WHAT does the tax payer get out of all this besides higher taxes? Lindenwood gets profits(?)IF they survive at our expense. It is difficult to understand the agenda of either side in this matter.
What don't you understand? Lindenwood is required to designate green space for their development. They tried to be nice and give it to the school, but the school wanted the prime building lots and not the land that was intended. I do not understand your statement that the tax payers will have higher taxes. What do you base that statement on?
Anonymous at 10:51 wrote:
"There is no way that anyone with a brain and some ethics could say that Lindenwood has acted desperate or mean-spirited. They have done more than necessary to try to appease the terrorist demands of Ken Bates and his flunky gang of brown nosers."
OK - First you say Lindenwood is not being mean-spirited and then you go on to refer to Ken Bates as making "terrorist" demands. Then you refer to our elected and appointed school officials as a "flunky gang of brown nosers."
I don't know what your definition of mean-spirited is, but those terms would probably be what many people would call mean-spirited.
I would think Lindenwood Development would be trying to establish a positive image, especially since Lindenwood's possible buyers include many Christians. Calling local school officials "a flunky gang of brown nosers" doesn't do much for Lindenwood's image.
5:10 pm AMEN!
I am not representing Lindenwood when I make comments on this blog site. I realize now that terms such as "flunky" and "brown" are very very bad words indeed.
Hey, if the school gets the people a nice piece of land near the water, more power to them. In the last 10 years almost all of the lakeshore has been privatized. We locals get to pay the high taxes while viewing the huge, ugly houses and the keep-out signs. And as for jobs, it's scrubbing toilets and mowing lawns. Whoopee.
Go for it, Ken!
The shame of all of this in the first place is that a Lindenwood Project even exists at all on this beautiful, unique piece of property.
It is private property and it is true the ABA they can do what they want, but what a shame that the current management and their board allowed the situation there to deteriorate to the point that their hand was forced to create a development of this size and magnitude. There are examples of conference centers in other parts of the country that operate effectively without having to create a large development. What will they do if these lots don't sell in this economic climate, in the timeline they planned to address their serious debt situation. It has been said that they already carry a lot of debt and are now counting on a developer to take them out of this financial situation if they can get all the lots sold. What if that does not happen with lot sales?
All of that being said, the school district is chasing after a piece of property that was not part of their strategic plan process. Though it was a nice thought to have land to do out outdoor studies with students, this may not be the best time to be spending scarce tax dollars on legal bills to gain access to property that is not needed to run the school. Surely there are existing public properties and parks that would allow the school access for these kinds of studies.
Perhaps it is time for the school board and administration to cut its' losses and focus on the priorities ahead.
Very well said, thank you. However, through all these many blogs on this Lindenwood/land issue, a few questions have not yet been asked or answered:
How exactly did the school administration decide to hire an attorney to fight for free land? Did the school board vote on hiring an attorney? If so, who voted yes and who voted no? I believe the public has a right to know.
If the school board did not vote on the issue of hiring an attorney, then this decision was obviously made by Ken Bates and he should be held accountable for his actions. Hiring an attorney to fight for free land that the school had zero chance of receiving was beyond foolish and wasteful. It was downright stupid.
The community should look at the school's dismal 3rd grade reading scores and ask what the real problems are there. Go to dpi site at www.dpi.wi.gov and click on the WINSS section on the right hand side. You can compare GL to many schools.
I am not sure who is constantly blasting the school for test scores but you do not tell the whole story. Did you look at other grades? Do you know the make-up of the third grade class? Could there be other variables in this score?
What about the ACT scores from last year? I have posted them with the surrounding area. Green Lake's scores are high and they tested the highest percentage of students! It has been shown that the higher the percentage of students (you are testing more than the top half of your class) the lower a school's score. Green Lake is doing many things well, you just want to zero in on anything negative.
ACT Results - Reading - All Students
Green Lake 2007-08
Enrollment Number Tested % Tested Average Score
Princeton 45 21 46.7 22.3
Berlin 177 85 48.0 21.5
Green Lake 36 27 75.0 23.2
Markesan 79 38 48.1 23.0
Ripon 138 87 63.0 23.7
Green Lake tested 75% of their students and had a score of 23.2. That was excellent. If you scroll through WKCE scores you will also see that all scores are not low. You keep posting about one grade. I would suggest that you go to the school and talk to them about the reading scores and what they are doing to ensure that all students are reading at grade level. You might be surprised. Or better yet, maybe you want to volunteer at the school. This would give you a first hand look at the good things that are happening at the school.
Good point on those test scores. I agree, some people are just looking for things to be negative about.
However, what people have every right to be skeptical about is the school’s attitude regarding the Lindenwood land negotiations. It’s not about who’s right or wrong, who said this or that, who’s negotiating and who isn’t. When all is said and done, the school district’s priorities are misguided. More than anything else, that is why residents are irritated.
I challenge the school to listen, really LISTEN to what residents want regarding this issue. No doubt, the school would find most people do not support investing this amount of time, energy and resources on a parcel of ABA land for nature study. Why? Because it’s not necessary. Other public lands are available and would offer similar opportunities. The Board needs to stop this dog and pony show of needing it all to ourselves. Clearly, that attitude has cost us. Look at the time and money already spent for a valuable chunk of the Lindenwood property. What do we have to show for it? Nothing so far, and possibly little or nothing in the end. The Board has taken the foolish risk of continuing to hold out for the choice land.
We’ve cut teachers and staff. We’ve cut programs. We’re talking about a referendum. Over and over we hear the school’s lamentations about state revenue caps. Then for the school to drop thousands on an attorney to grab a piece of real estate is just mind-blowing. It defies rational thought. It’s insulting to those teachers whose positions have been cut or reduced. It raises an enormous red flag about the Board’s judgment, because for several years, we’ve heard how the school is facing “tight budget times.”
It’s not a question of whether Lindenwood is being mean or whether the school is being greedy. It’s a question of our district’s priorities. Should we be fiscally responsible and make the most of what is available, or should we continue to spend good money on a lawyer to negotiate something that really won’t benefit our students any more than, say, South Woods or Snake Creek land, both of which are within eight miles of the school and open to the public. It’s awfully hard to sell a referendum when our school refuses to curtail its own spending.
The question no one is asking is, Do the majority of Green Lake citizens support continuing the Lindenwood land negotiations, or is the Board acting on its own wishes in spite of what the public would say?
The answer is obvious. Ask anyone on the street. You’d be hard-pressed to find a dozen people outside the Board and administration who would say, “Yes, we should continue to fight for this land even if it costs us even more time and money.” That is why I say the district’s priorities are misguided. The Board is simply not in step with what the public would want, at least in this matter. But just watch. Even if 50 citizens stand up and oppose this nonsense at the School Board meeting this Wednesday, the district will keep hammering away at Lindenwood, trying to dig ourselves out of a hole, both financially and from a public relations standpoint. The Board seems to think, “We’ll show THEM!”
Yeah, you’ve shown us something.
I have to disagree - I am a parent and I think the school board is doing exactly the right thing.
The County clearly wanted to do something good for our children and our grandchildren and so they provided this opportunity for a dedicated nature center. The school is wise to grab this opportunity and fight for the best possible thing for our children. Whatever the future of the Green Lake Schools, this land and the nature center would continue to benefit the children of this area long into the future.
I'm with the blogger above who said "Go for it, Ken."
I have two questions for the above blogger, who claims to be an ordinary “parent.” The response should be entertaining.
1. Why, exactly, does the school need expensive land of its own when South Woods, Snake Creek, the White River Marsh, the Grand River Marsh, and other Green Lake Conservancy lands are already available nearby for free?
2. If you support the Board, then do tell. Exactly how much money should the Board continue to spend on legal fees in order to take the most valuable land from Lindenwood? Would you support $15 thousand? $20 thousand? $30 thousand? More? How much do you feel is within reason? Be specific.
I am indeed an "ordinary parent" and I am not writing here for your entertainment or so you can make sport of what I have to say.
I want my children and their children to have every possible opportunity to grow into competent, thoughtful adults. I support having a dedicated nature center as part of our school system because I believe that a dedicated nature center, and curriculum built around it, would be important parts of my children's education. And the opportunities for community enrichment would be wonderful.
It is indeed unfortunate that the school has had to hire an attorney in order to receive this gift. But there are certainly many examples around here (remember how the Baptists got the ABA in the first place) of people who did a little financial stretching and ended up with a priceless jewel.
So sorry, until you can tell me how NOT giving the land to the school benefits our children, I don't think you'll be able to convince me. We probably just have to agree to disagree.
Well I certainly disagree with you, Ordinary Parent. You say: "I want my children and their children to have every possible opportunity to grow into competent, thoughtful adults." That is the role of the parent and the family, and has nothing to do with the issue of wasted money because of the current school administration.
The school did not "have to" hire an attorney to fight for free land. I still want to know EXACTLY who decided to hire this attorney.
Your children and grandchildren do not need a "dedicated" nature center to learn about nature. Nature is our entire planet. As the previous bloggers pointed out, there is very ample public lands in our area for nature studies. What the school does with it remains to be seen. The ABA has been made available to the public school for decades and (with very few exceptions) has not taken advantage of this opportunity. Now, all of a sudden this is the most important thing for our students education. If the school was truly interested in educating our students, they would have gladly accepted "the dump and the cart paths" and demonstrated first-hand the valuable lesson of developing forest lands. But their goal isn't educating the kids. That seems very obvious to me and everyone else in Green Lake.
Please explain to me how you develop "forest lands" on cart paths. That's a pretty funny image - not to mention that I don't think the golfers would appreciate it.
I can see that you are one of the students who needs to be educated! A very fine question indeed. You plant trees and native plants everywhere EXCEPT on the paths. I am glad that I could clear this up for you.
To the persons who left nasty comments about G.L.Reporter Kristin Radtke not reporting on Lindenwood and the G.L.school shame on you!! The G.L. school has it's so called favorite, Aaaron Becker from the Ripon Commonwealth! How do you know that our school is not withholding the Lindenwood info from our Green Lake papers and giving their so called "exclusive rights" to their favorite puppet Aaron of the Commonwealth. This school of ours is so underhanded it is getting to be pathetic!! So I would stop blaming Kristin of the G.L. Reporter! I for one feel she does an outstanding job reporting all the news and far more in our community!! Put the blame where it should be and that's on this so called school of ours where our tax dollar is being wasted on all of these huge attorney fees!! They had a chance for "free" land but oh no that's not good enough!! Now they want bigger and better land!! When will all this insanity ever stop? The tax payers of this school district need to wake up and watch Ken Bates in action!! Put your blame right there and then you will have it right!!!!!
I could not agree more with the person who said Kristin Radtke of the G.L.Reporter does an outstanding job. I also agree that our tax payers of our community need to wake and for once and watch our school in action!! You would be appalled how this district is wasting our and my hard earned money!! But really what amazes me more is there are never any sound-offs from parents(who I know are totally upset) of G.L. school expressing their unhappiness!! Come on everybody we have a primary coming up in a few weeks! We need to get Dennis, Amy and Harley some much needed help on our school board! We need to stop constantly reinventing our school and start educating our children!!!!! we are so top-heavy in G.L. School it is not even funny anymore!!! Look what Princeton has done by hiring a Administater/Principal! And not to mention I have heard he is a wonderful guy and you can tell cares about the kids!! By the way great article Kristin did on him and it was great to see it in our G.L.Reporter!!!! Keep up the good work Kristin!! I bet Ken and e.jon loved to see that!! Well, if the shoe fits you better wear it!!
Tax payers of the City of G.L. and the Town of Brooklyn I am serious we need you to remember to get out and vote on Feb.17. Please support Harley Reebe who is very much trying to make our school board be accountable for it's actions!! He care about the kids and also your tax dollar!!! Also consider supporting Emmet Sandberg. He will also make your and my school board be accountable for it's actions. These two gentlemen need all our support in the primary!!!
Nobody is attacking Kristin personally. The community just wants to know why her newspaper is sweeping this particular issue under the rug. Sorry, but I don’t buy that the school is “withholding” information from her and only her.
I also cannot believe that Kristin is behind the newspapers lack of reporting on the Lindenwood issue. Whoever owns/edits the newspaper must be the one behind this unprofessional, one-sided tactic. It would be nice if someone took responsibility for their actions in this matter.
The previous bloggers said it right, this insanity has got to STOP! The current administration (and half of the school board) is a disgrace! Please support Harley Reabe in the primary election for school board. I too have heard that Emmet Sandburg is a decent candidate that would do the right thing, but I sure would like to see some interviews in our local papers from all the candidates so we can read for ourselves where they stand on the issues at hand.
Lindenwood Development sure is eager to point out how much the school is spending on legal fees. Developers aren't usually that concerned for the locals. Hmmmmm .. sounds to me like the fox criticizing the farmer for spending so much money on a fence around his hen house.
The above poster proves exactly why so many local residents believe the School Board is either ignorant or in denial about what the citizens want.
When people question why the Board is spending so much money on legal fees for land, the Board responds by pretending Lindenwood is asking the question. No! It’s us, the citizens, who are asking the question! WE are the ones who want to know. Lindenwood couldn’t care less. The Board needs to stop acting like truth and facts are part of a smear campaign.
Instead of listening to the increasingly frustrated citizens and responding to THEM, the Board is pretending like Lindenwood is the one raising the issue. It’s absolute denial on the Board’s part.
Back to the test scores for just a moment...The response is comparing apples to oranges. Nothing was said about ACT scores, so don't change the subject. Yes, it is positive that ACT scores are as high as they are. However...those may reflect the school programs, staff, and students before the current admin took over. I am willing to bet that this current bunch of kids coming through are not getting nearly the kind of education the ACT takers had before all the program cuts and changes took place. Think about it and watch their progress.
If you're just sick of it all... open enrollment starts Monday Feb 2Move your kids elsewhere.
The grass is always greener on the other side, till you find out it's just another dandelion patch.
To Anonymous at 1:40 who said "Lindenwood couldn't care less" about the money spent by the School Board on lawyers.
I thought Lindenwood Development was the one who paid for that huge ad in the Ripon Commonwealth. That's a strange thing to do if Lindenwood Development really "couldn't care less."
Or maybe you meant that Lindenwood Development "couldn't care less" about our community and our schools?
If I am not mistaken, it was the newspaper reporter who stated how much the school is spending on the lawyer, NOT Lindenwood. Lindenwood is not even privy to this information.
The ad placed by Lindenwood in the Ripon paper was to illustrate to the public the course of events thus far. Nothing wrong with stating the facts! Too bad that Ken Bates can't be this honest or straightforward. Lindenwood wanted it put on "the record" what has occured in order to expose the lies that Ken Bates keeps perpetuating.
To the blogger who suggested moving our students to another school, you are completely missing the point.
GREEN LAKE PARENTS WANT THEIR SCHOOL BACK! WE ARE FED UP WITH HOW THINGS HAVE GONE WITH THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION! KEN BATES AND JON TRACY HAVE TURNED OUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONS INTO A MOCKERY, A FIASCO.
GREEN LAKE SCHOOL SHOULD HIRE ONE (1) ADMINISTRATOR/ PRINCIPAL LIKE PRINCETON DID, SOMEONE WHO CARES MORE ABOUT OUR STUDENTS EDUCATION THAN A NEW HEALTH CENTER, BIKE PATHS, ROTARY PROJECTS OR REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS.
THE JOB OF THE ADMINISTRATOR IS TO RUN THE SCHOOL! KEN BATES HIRED THIS LAWYER WITHOUT THE SCHOOL BOARD APPROVAL! KEN BATES SHOULD BE FIRED AND FORCED TO PAY BACK THE MONEY HAS WASTED ON A LAWYER FOR "FREE LAND". HE OBVIOUSLY HAS NOT ACTED IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE SCHOOL OR THE TAXPAYERS.
Maybe the school board should hire a lawyer to find a way to break Bates and Tracy's contracts, which for some (weird) reason have a "no fire" clause written into it. I for one cannot believe that their contracts were ever renewed, they have done a horrible job from the beginning. I guess we can thank certain school board members for that.
I suggest that if you care so much about your children that you want to hire an attorney to fight to break contracts of school administrators, save yourself and your kids a lot of abuse. Use school choice. I don't live in your district anymore. We incurred hideous abuse from the school board and administration several years ago. We left in order to keep our kids sane, and recover our lives.
You can't fight these people, folks. Some of these people have piles of money you can not comprehend. They may not be out there in a public position but they are pulling strings you can not see.
You can apply for school choice online, and no, it isn't another dandelion patch. Other communities manage to set reasonable student centered goals, and operate transparently.
I have never seen such a hornets nest as GL has.
You can teach the district a better lesson, less painfully to yourself, by removing your children. When you start the fighting with lawyers etc, it gets nasty and really bad, for YOU. GL schools has some endless well from which they dip money for lawyers. I have been on the receiving end of it, as a parent trying to protect two victimized children.
The most expedient, cheapest, least painful way for you folks to get rid of this mess, is take your kids elsewhere. Apply for 3 schools, in case your first choice can not accommodate you. If you don't like it, you can always come back to your green pasture or dandelion patch.
You can't afford lawyers to fight the school, who will use your own tax dollars to fight you back.
You could not have said it better!! But a "no fire clause"-unreal,but doesn't that just sound like something this current school board would do? We need to get rid of Ken Bates and e.jon Tracy they area a total disgrace to our school!!! Our school has continued to spiral downward at such a fast pace it is unbelievable! All the wonderful teachers that truly cared are now gone-either because they were let go or they just couldn't stand it here anymore! Do you blame them?Ken Bate is everywhere else but at our school running it and he is getting over $100,000.00 to do it!! That is a total disgrace!!! And if you have ever been to a school board meeting he is constanly reporting on this Cornerstone project. Tell me what that has to do with our school?? Wendy is a horrible president for the fact that the school board meeting ramble on and one with no concern at all for parents and citizens of the communities time!!! A good president keeps a conscience effort to keep the meeting rolling in a timely manner! Our school board meetings are ridicously loNG and I feel it is done totally on purpose-so people get fed up and leave! They seem to have forgotten who's paying the bill-THE TAXPAYER!! Just remember how you treat your taxpayer at referendum time!! Believe me that will never happen in this school district everyone is so fed up!!!
The school is trying to confuse their own requests for choice real estate and Lindenwood “not caring” about our community and school. True, Lindenwood probably doesn’t care that much about the school. Why the hell should they? It’s THEIR land and the school is trying to take it away.
Why should Lindenwood be thrilled to part with valuable real estate for some silly school project?
The intention was never to give away their prime lots. I don't think the intention was to give away any lots, but rather "extra" land that was available for green space. Why can't the school administration understand this simple concept?
Anonymous wrote:
"True, Lindenwood probably doesn’t care that much about the school. Why the hell should they?"
Are you announcing to the world of prospective buyers who are reading this blog and the local newspapers that Lindenwood Development is an organization that does not care about education and our local schools?
Even if Lindenwood Development "doesn't care that much about the school" you probably shouldn't be so in-your-face about it. For one thing, it doesn't create a very family-friendly picture. "Move to Estates of Lawsonia - Where we don't care about schools"
Plus, saying you don't care about the school shows you don't understand one of the most important real estate principles - Good schools sell homes! If for nothing more than self-interest in your bottom line, Lindenwood Development should care alot about our schools.
I think you have a recurrent theme going on. I don't know how many of you recall the Nancy Burns debacle. How many of you know she is under a gag order? If she speaks up, she loses her retirement...She won't talk even though she witnessed abuse of kids, that didn't deserve one ounce of what they got from the school board, and school administration and yes, even a few teachers.
Where did the Zwiacher's go? You would be entertained to know that an Iowa newspaper did a feature on their kid, who grew up in Green Lake, but now claims Wasilla AK as her home town! No mention of Green Lake.
This is the same battle folks.
You have a school board and administration disconnected from the middle class of Green Lake, most of whom are moving their kids out.
You have a ruling dynasty there that does what it wants.
Lindenwood is a distraction. It is just their newest diversion. This is a long story....this is continuation of history, just new names, same idea.
This district at one time, built a soccer field on Zwiacher's land...now there is no soccer. Money down the drain.
Zwiacher spearheaded this school fitness center which was to be a 'clinical facility', never mind that you had a very nice private endeavor offering high level services. Public funds put the private one under...how could a private endeavor compete with $250,000 of your federal tax dollars. Plus they portrayed GL as an isolated, poor town to get this money.
Now your administrator is involved with a new fitness center, with the name of 'Cornerstone'. Gosh, that sounds a bit religious, doesn't it? Look into the funding on this, who is involved, what have they done in the past....perhaps you will find some interesting things. Sounds like he is doing this on school time.
This same 'grant' concept is being employed by the school to do a land grab.
Green Lake is a small community. If it put it's efforts to educating the children of this small community, that would be fine. It seems to have its fingers in every one's pie. Green Lake does not need more land. It is surrounded by a great deal of public land, and water. Why does it want land in the ABA anyway? Why is this denomination so involved in public school business?
The school census includes your 4 year olds thru 12th grade. I believe in those stats are 2 years of preschoolers. I imagine a 3 year preschool will be added next to pad the stats. You are down to 303 kids...most high schools have more than that!
I don't know why Lee Zarnott was not offered that school administrator job before they hired Burns...well, actually, I DO know why. He had a brain. They wanted 'yes' people. They wanted people to overlook their unethical behavior and shut up. They pay them to shut up or they 'gag' them.
I am going to warn you that if you mess with these folks, hiring lawyers etc, you can end up on the short end of things. These people are supported by some 'unknown' sources of money. This is what makes them so bold. If you only new the garbage they pulled on our family, you would be astounded. We had no public forum at that time.
Your best bet is to put them out, by removing students. No it won't be GL school, it won't be the same, but, consider your resources in fighting these people, and consider how much time and energy you have to devote to fighting a powerful coalition well trained and experienced in intimidation. This can hit your kids, and hit them hard.
Lindenwood won't help you with attorney's fees. They have their own issues.
I assure you, most districts are not this kind of mess. The state superintendent of schools won't help you. GL gets no state school aid. It is too rich in tax revenue. GL has its 'yes' people in the state structure too. The superintendent will advise you to hire a lawyer. The state won't touch GL either. It is too bad that Lindenwood got itself involved with the school to begin with. Whose idea was that?
Good luck to you. I truly mean that. I miss many of the wonderful people being impacted by this, but, we encountered such silence when we faced our tribulations. Perhaps if people had involved themselves with our situation, this current one would not be going on, instead, the school board people were even more empowered. Each time they win, they go on to even more outrageous behavior.
Many good people have basically 'fled' the school and area. Some like ourselves DID put up a fight, but you can't fight this kind of money and power from a middle class position, alone.
Give your kids a gift, a good education in a peaceful environment. You will fit in eventually. In the mean time, you can petition to have the district consolidated.
Predictably, the school administration continues to twist people’s words.
When I indicated Lindenwood has no interest in giving away valuable real estate for some kooky school project, the administration replied:
“Are you announcing to the world of prospective buyers who are reading this blog and the local newspapers that Lindenwood Development is an organization that does not care about education and our local schools?”
That’s a pretty loaded question. Just because Lindenwood isn’t thrilled to fork over million-dollar housing lots doesn’t mean Lindenwood is in bed with Hitler. The school apparently thinks that since Lindenwood is not giving away prime, valuable real estate, it means Lindenwood hates children, puppies and nuns. The attitude is that Lindenwood hates the school and community unless Lindenwood does exactly what the school wants, for free.
The school’s pie in the sky attitude is becoming a liability. People aren’t putting up with it.
At this point, the only fair thing to do would be to call off the whole deal. Lindenwood should find another group to help with their green space. This crap that Ken Bates is pulling has got to end.
I am not with the administration and I did not "twist people's words." I copied these words exactly from a previous post:
"True, Lindenwood probably doesn’t care that much about the school. Why the hell should they?"
I don't need to "twist people's words" when they are so crystal clear. So you can disregard all I said if you want. I probably didn't need to say anything since you've said it so well in two simple sentences.
"Lindenwood probably doesn't care that much about the school. Why the hell should they?"
I wrote that post. The reason you’re twisting my words is because you’re re-interpreting them with your own agenda. To be crystal clear, I’ll restate:
“Why the hell should the school’s success or failure be pinned on whether a developer is willing to hand over his most valuable land for some little nature study?”
It’s not Lindenwood’s business or concern to make or break the school with a certain land offer. Therefore, Lindenwood Development has every right to go about their own business despite what the school “wants” for outdoor education. The school’s problem is our “environmentally friendly” administration thinks we’re somehow owed something, and is trying to make Lindenwood look bad for not forking it over. We residents aren’t swallowing it because it’s becoming a tremendous waste of time and money. Everyone seems to understand this but the administration itself.
If the school wants land, then we residents should approve the idea and the School Board should buy it. The school has no business strutting around and expecting that Lindenwood should give away million-dollar real estate. Frankly, we’re all growing tired of the school’s feel-good lines about “community” and “our children’s future” to explain why Lindenwood should give land away.
Is there some Bond the town is supposed to be responsible for regarding this development? If so what do the local people get out of this? If so do the people get to vote on the Bond?
In all fairness to Lindenwood,it is not our right to speak for them, especially by saying that they don't care about the school, etc. I understand the point the blogger was trying to make, however.
I agree with the comments on the school's attitude about this land. There was a column in the Ripon paper this week where Wendy Schultz tried (in vain) to rationalize all the wrong-doings that she and Ken Bates have been perpetrating upon the community. To quote:
"Green Lake students don't just deserve land that would be cast aside, but also some of the future housing lots", she said. "We're in this to give our students the best opportunity to study the forest and be good stewards of the land," Schultz said. "I feel strongly about getting a nice piece of property for our students because they deserve it and the community deserves it."
CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS???
#1 Our students don't deserve ANY land! What gives them the right to expect or demand real estate in order to procure a worthwhile education?
#2 There is ample land in and around our community to "study the forest" and be good stewards of the land. I am a good steward of the land, a great one in fact, and my school did not own any such land.
#3 FUTURE HOUSING LOTS???? Why should our students "deserve" future housing lots? I think this is Wendy Schultz's defining statement. This is what this disgraceful scandal is all about. Ken Bates and Wendy Schultz WANT housing lots. This has nothing to do with teaching our students forestry or good stewardship. This is a GREEDY, SHAMEFUL, DISGUSTING ploy to obtain valuable real estate for future gain.
Wendy Schultz then has the impudence to say: "Lindenwood could donate Woodland Court as a display of GOOD FAITH to the school and community", Schultz said.
Wendy Schultz and Ken Bates have brought shame and embarrassment to this entire community and to the school and especially to the students. Being the president of the school board and the school administrator, their actions SHOULD BE impeccable, above reproach. Their actions are inexcusable. WENDY SCHULTZ AND KEN BATES SHOULD BOTH STEP DOWN FROM THEIR ROLES IN THE SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY.
GLSD has a history of taking what they want and doing what they want. They are not going to step down because they are disliked. I suppose you can start a recall, however unless you know the history of this district, you are bound to repeat it.
Welcome to Wendy's world.
To the person who asked whether the Town would be supporting bonds for the developer -
Has anyone checked with Mike Wuest? He should know.
Perhaps it is time for the School Board and citizens to have a discussion and vote about this issue. The School Board needs to listen and react to the opinion of the majority of citizens in this district. They are supposed to represent us, correct?
The school board has a penchant for going into closed session if they don't want to talk about 'it'. You will never get any reasonable discourse with the school board, but, hey, go ahead and try. School board meetings are like 'holding court'. The royalty will simply shut you up when they have had enough.
Has anyone asked Mike Wuerst whether the Town would be supportung bonds for the developer?
This is IMPORTANT because if it is than what are the town folks getting for their money?
There is an IMPORTANT meeting Wed., Feb.4, at 4:30, County Ct House regarding this matter.
It seems to me this Lindenwood Development matter impacts the Green Lake Community (city, town, county, school). How can these interelated issues and forms of government help each other deal with this mess?
The blogger a few posts up has it correct. The residents of this school district should vote on whether we pursue real estate in the ABA or Sunnyside. We've had enough with the Board following their own screwy dreams.
I agree completely.
Then the residents of the district should also vote to terminate the contracts of Ken Bates and E Jon Tracy and hire one administrator/principal to do the job right. We've had far too much of these two, and after several years our school is in a literal shambles because of them.
Then we could do the same with Wendy Schultz. Look at the aftermath since she has been school board president.
In my opinion the Lindenwood Development has been a cancer for our community from day one. They've fought local codes and variances, i.e. lot size, to maximize profit with little or no concern about what impact that might have on the land or the community. Based on how unethical their behavior has been I wouldn't be surprised if most of the negative responses on this blog were written by Lindenwood themselves. When ever Lindenwood has been challenged they resort to the threat of a law suit - have we already forgotten their previous dealings with the city? As far as the school excercising their right to secure a small percentage of
the developement for "Green Space" for future generations to use as a learning enviroment I'm all for it. Thank you Ken and Wendy, as well as the rest of the School Board, for taking advantage of this important opportunity and not letting Lindenwood "bully" their way out of it.
SOS!
Once again, a clueless blogger tries to drudge up old stuff that has NOTHING to do with the land deal.
I want that blogger to know that these negative comments against Ken Bates, the rest of the administration and certain members of the school board ARE NOT coming from Lindenwood.
Don't you undertand the obvious? Everyone is talking about this issue, and I do not know one person who believes the current administration is doing a good job. Quite the opposite.
The school has no "rights" to this land. There are options that Lindenwood should consider (and they are), and I hope that they find a more deserving group to give this land to. The school has an entire lake and for that matter a whole county of land that they can study if they want to.
Lindenwood is not the bully. Ken Bates is the bully, and he is so far beyond doing anything even slightly realistic in this matter. The land that he is demanding simply is not available. Why can't he accept that and move on? Because KEN BATES is the bully here, and he is wasting MY money and YOURS with his lame, egocentric schemes.
To Anonymous at 12:21
Amen to everything you said!
The types of vicious personal attacks against school board and administration individuals that appear on this blog and in the local newspapers do nothing but destroy - destroy good will, destroy opportunities, destroy relationships, destroy community.
Many of us are 100% supportive of Wendy Schultz and Ken Bates for trying to fight for the best interests of our community and our schools in spite of the horrible personal attacks.
1. The school's remarks about Lindenwood having the wrong lot sizes are inaccurate. Even Brooklyn has publicly admitted that Lindenwood is following proper procedure because of the conflict in the town's laws. That ship has sailed.
2. The school's attempt to re-frame the argument is deceitful. The school is not asking for "a small percentage" of Lindenwood's land, like the blogger said a few posts up. The school is essentially holding out for the entire Woodland Court (five housing lots) worth over $1 million dollars.
3. The school is positively in denial if they think most residents of this district support these arrogant, wasteful shenanigans when literally hundreds of acres of land/wetlands already exist in the Green Lake area, open to the public.
A previous blogger said:
"I want that blogger to know that these negative comments against Ken Bates, the rest of the administration and certain members of the school board ARE NOT coming from Lindenwood."
We can only take your word on that. But what Lindenwood Development needs to see is that all these angry rants REFLECT POORLY ON LINDENWOOD DEVELOPMENT. If they understood this, they would tell their "supporters" to use different tactics or to use words that don't make them look so angry and vengeful.
Lindenwood Development - If you really aren't the ones writing all the awful stuff on this blog, then for your own sake and future, you need to get your supporters to stop the name-calling and the personal assaults. How do you plan to be part of a community after you've alienated everyone in it?
You are so backwards on this. The angry rants reflect poorly on Ken Bates and certain members of the school board.
I am angry about this entire ordeal. I don't think that Lindenwood will have a problem that the public is as disgusted with this mess as they are. Quit trying to defend Bates and Schultz. Their actions are inexcusable.
The School District is hell-bent on making Lindenwood the bad guy (read the newspaper), but then accuses Lindenwood of secretly raising legitimate questions about the school's spending and priorities. Seems to me the district is spinning like a carnival ride.
I do NOT believe the ugly things put in the newspers or even the so called facts Lindenwood publicizes. We have learned over time that Lindenwood cannot be trusted!
blah blah blah
I agree with Anonymous 12:21 pm and Anonymous 1:04 pm.
I believe Wendy Schultz and Ken Bates are doing a commendable job attempting to do what's best for both our school and community.
To Anonymous 12:59 pm look no further than todays posts to find people who believe the current administration is doing a good job.
There appears to be a small group of people in this community who make it their mission in life to complain about and level personal attacks against members of the school board and/or school administration.
It's easy to sit on the sidelines and complain. I give all the credit in the world to people like Ken Bates and Wendy Schultz who selflessly donate their time and energy in a effort to make Green Lake a better place for all of us.
The reason Lindenwood isn't trusted is because people like you make broad generalizations and accusations about the situation without knowing and/or admitting the facts. Then the school asks him to give away his most valuable land and whines when the answer is NO.
Just have to add my vote to those above -
Keep up the good work, Wendy and Ken. There are many of us who appreciate what you're doing - standing up for all of us and working for the betterment of Green Lake.
Anonymous at said:
"The reason Lindenwood isn't trusted is because people like you make broad generalizations and accusations about the situation without knowing and/or admitting the facts. Then the school asks him to give away his most valuable land and whines when the answer is NO."
This is interesting. First you tell us that Lindenwood Development is trustworthy - you say the only reason people don't trust Lindenwood is because of "broad generalizations and accusations".
Next, you say something that is NOT TRUE. Woodland Circle is NOT "his most valuable land." The most valuable land in Estates of Lawsonia are the lake-front lots, of course.
Here's my point - People don't trust organizations that don't tell the truth - or, as in the post copied above, mix truth with untruth.
You can come back at me and say that I missed your point. But then you would be missing my point.
My point is: If you expect to be trusted, then you have to tell the truth. Or at the very least, not tell such obvious lies.
Why don't all of you go to the open meeting tonight of the School's Building and Grounds Committee? The only adgenda item is Discussion Regarding Lindenwood Property. It is at the School Library 2/3/09 5:00 pm.
Where and when was this meeting announced, besides here on the blogsite? Was it mentioned in the paper?
Oh, how could I forget. Silly me. Turns out the school DID request the lakefront lots. According to the paper, the school wanted lots 8, 9, 10 and 11, all by the water. So this WOULD be Lindenwood's most valuable land. Thanks for reminding us of the facts. I'd hate to miss an opportunity to point out the school's greed and arrogance in this whole nonsense. So therefore, it's NOT a lie to say the school has requested the development's most expensive land. Fact.
Let's see you weasel your way out of this one.
He's got you there....
The school is demanding lakefront property because the students "deserve" it and then they will be able to study the lake. What a bunch of hogwash. Green Lake is a huge lake and the conservancy owns land on it that can be studied if necessary.
I am tired of this whole charter school deal. It is a three year requirement that we stay with it. Then I hope we return to being a normal school where our kids are educated and preparing for college. I am not against nature, or learning about nature, or teaching kids about nature etc. But considering that we have a handful of students interested. I think it's very ironic that the same kids who have to be coerced to mow the lawn, shovel snow or rake leaves are now suddenly interested in saving the world with their green power. No, I really don't think so. The only reason the school has turned into a "green" charter school was 1) to receive charter money and 2) to try to attract new students to a dying school (that is dying because of the dictatorship of Bates and Tracy.) The school was growing before they arrived on the scene to drive everyone away. This whole ordeal is sickening.
The school can still teach about nature (like they did before it was a charter school) if they want to.
I'm fairly certain tonights Building and Grounds committee meeting is a closed session?
Anyone know for sure?
Call the school and ask. By the way, Chief, the School Board primary is two weeks from today. How about a thread on that?
Adgenda is on GLSD website:
http://www.glsd.k12.wi.us/cms_files/resources/02-03-2009%20B%20&%20G%20Comm%20Mtg.pdf
Should be an open meeting...prior adgendas go right into clossed session, this one does not.
Did anyone ever hear of the saying "beggars can't be choosers?"
It's obvious from reading some of the blogs that some of you need to get a life! Apparently your own lives must be so miserable that you feel the need to drag others down. If you really desire change then do something about it - run for school board; attend one of the various meetings and make youself heard; or better yet, call one of the elected members of the school board and discuss your concerns civilly with them. I'll guarantee you that they will listen to your thoughts or concerns in a courteous and respectful manner. Writing vicious personal attacks against our elected officials because you differ in opinion from them and then hiding behind an Anonymous signature is cowardly. The members of the school board and the school administration have earned my respect - it takes courage to standup for what you believe is right without fear of retribution. I for one appreciate having both Ken Bates and Wendy Schultz representing our school and community - their moral character has been outstanding through everything.
I think that people who have children in school are not going to sign their names to something if they disagree with the administration. I guess we need to agree to disagree in a more diplomatic way. Emotions are running high on this issue and people are venting.
Thank you to anonymous at 6:16 for bringing some calm, reason, and civility to this conversation.
Whatever. There is no such thing as bringing reason to this matter. What Ken Bates and gang have done is far beyond reason. You can bring all the sugary words you want to this blog but it doesn't change reality. What's going on at school has gone way too far and has to be stopped. The actions of the current administration are not acceptable. It's not time to be calm or civil when our school is spiraling towards destruction. Things have to change drastically, and soon.
Just a reminder to all of you unhappy folks out there. If you have students in the Green Lake district you can try the Open Enrollment option. Now is the time. You can do it from your own computer. If GLPS doesn't have a link look up the school you are interested in. Or just google "open enrollment for wisconsin".
Using the name Ken Bates and moral character in the same sentence is quite interesting.
Typical Green Lake lynch mob mentality. This "BS" started a few years ago when a few former teachers, who were disgruntled over being laid off, incited a revolt against the school with a handful of their friends. Let our elected school board members along with the school administration do their job without constantly attempting to micro-manage each and every decision they make.
I sure hope the ripon paper will offer equal time to lindenwood. after reading that dribble from wendy i cannot believe you people that are backing her are falling for it. i guess this is what happens. i happen to know both parties (wendy & ken)and the (folks at lindenwood) and as a neutral observer i have to support lindenwood on this one. this all started with the county wanting to wash it's hands of this so called free land. they were going to give it back to the developer, but a few nice people looked to the school to see if they could use it for a garden or class study, but now it has gone too far. those poor guys at lindenwood have not even been given the chance to make a dime and those idiots at school have taken this and turned it into a big mess. they are using this to take the attention away from what they really should be doing and that is running the school properly. no one knows who will buy the homes built in lindenwood. it is likely they will sell homes to families that will need a good school for their children. leave lindenwood alone. take what you can have. let the man make his dollar just like everyone else around this lake has.
Family homes in Lindenwood? You've got to be kidding. It will be part-time summer homes for the very wealthy.
The fact is that it is just a matter of time before the Green Lake schools will have to consolidate, probably with Princeton. Merging the football team was just the first step. Who cares if families move into the new homes at Lindenwood or merely wealthy summer folks? Enrollment will continue to decline,as families are not moving to Green Lake because there are no jobs here.
Did you know that you can open enroll your middle and high school kids at various Virtual Schools in Wisconsin? Our Green Lake High School kids can attend high school online with over 700 courses in a full 22 credit program with NO tuition. All Wisconsin residents from 5K to Grade 12 can attend these schools.
Open Enrollment for 2009 is right now, February 2 - 20 for Monroe Virtual High School, just one of these highly rated virtual schools. They have a great website, as do other virtual schools. Just google "vitual high school Wisconsin" and check out the various options.
The point I am trying to make here is that even if families move into Lindenwood, they will not necessarily send their kids to our local schools. I wouldn't! This is the way of the future, and the future starts now. If my kids were still at Green Lake High School, I would transfer them to a virtual school such as Monroe in a heartbeat. Until we get a new administration that knows how to run a school with positive results, enrollment will continue to decline.
College Admissions aren't going to give a crap about what your kids know at lake algae or buckthorn when they are looking at their transcripts at average or below average reading and math skills. Our school needs to get on board the education train and quit this bizarre three-ring circus that Ken Bates has created for his own entertainment.
Interesting articles in the papers about the ABA trying to come up with other land for the school as an alternative. They describe one wooded lake lot, an existing building and access to 28 other acres for prairie study. Given the layout of existing waterfront homes there and land that could be available, they are probably talking about land on the far southwest side of the property. Maybe the old historic tea house and perhaps an odd lot size that couldn't be developed? That area is near land that is under the protection of the conservancy.
Could be a good use of the land for the school, with a building for classroom studies, access to the lake, and the prairie area.
Could be somewhere else on that property that they are talking about, but where would that be.
At least this problem could be solved and money could be saved for the school on further legal expenses and arguing sides through the newspaper.
Lindenwood has to be hoping this will go through. Spring is around the corner and even in this tough economy, they don't want to see another sales season slip through their hands.
This whole situation is a farce. In the newspaper this week, there’s a story about the Sanitary District buying 22 acres on the west end of the ABA. The article describes it as woods, wetlands and waterfront. Here’s the best part: It’s open to the public. Why did the school need to fritter away over $11,500 for some dinky piece of land when plenty of other land was already available, for free? The Sanitary District also just bought dozens of acres in Sunnyside, with woods, wetlands and water. This is ALSO open to the public.
It’s nice of the Conference Center to give alternative land specifically to the school to settle the Lindenwood situation, but anyone with half a brain can see it’s completely unnecessary. Just a way for the school to save face.
Attention School District residents: There’s an enormous error on the front page of this week’s Green Lake Reporter. An article states the school is facing a potential $763,000 shortfall next school year. That is not true. The 2009-2010 budget is balanced. The following school year (2010-11) the projected deficit is $751,000.
I have not read that article yet, but at one school board meeting I attended Ken Bates and his goonies were talking about borrowing a large sum of money from one school year budget to meet the needs of the subsequent upcoming budget. It was several hundred thousand dollars that he was talking about. If I am not mistaken, the only reason that the 09/10 budget is balanced is because they are taking the money from the 10/11 school year, therefore creating this deficit. Is this addressed in the newspaper article?
The job of school administrator is to run the school within the budget allotted. Ken Bates has not done this, obviously. We need to reform the entire school to stay within a reasonable budget. Green Lake spends more per pupil than any other public school in the state of Wisconsin. This is ridiculous. First step is to replace our inept administrator Bates and inept principal Tracey with one qualified, capable individual. That alone will save $100,00 or more per school year. That would be a great place to start.
Oh goodie! The $751,000 deficit is a whole nuther year away! That just makes it all so much better?? I was so afraid it was something we might need to be concerned about… like maybe now? That money will come from where?
Let's keep up the diversionary tactics so we can avoid this issue that much longer. Is there some more land we could buy?
For those of you who continue to beat the drum about firing Ken Bates, be sure to read this week's newspaper article about the School Board extending his contract.
If Ken Bates contract is renewed, I will guarantee that Green Lake schools will continue to fail, flounder and eventually consolidate. It will be the beginning of the end. Ken Bates has already done far too much damage for the school board to even consider renewing his contract. I mean, the subject should not even be open for debate. There will be serious repercussions if this happens. You aint' seen nothing yet.
The school board should not make any such decisions until after the elections and we have a new school board member who actually has a brain.
Too late. The Board already voted.
That is very distressing news if it is true. How could such a thing be allowed? I feel sick, literally.
Did any of you see today's Green Lake Reporter "Green Lake School Board Candidate Answers"?
The six candidates running for two seats were given a series of questions, as is customary in our local school board elections. The paper states:
Board of Education candidate Michele Polzer did not turn in her questionnaire by the Thursday deadline set for candidates. When contacted Monday by the Green Lake Reporter, Polzer said she did not intend to submit her questionnaire.
WTF is with that? Is Polzer so arrogant that she doesn't need to comply like the other candidates? You may as well pull out of the race, Ms. Polzer. Anyone who can't follow a simple procedure shouldn't be allowed on the school board anyway. Especially one who is tight buddies with Ken Bates.
The above blogger obviously didn't read the Ripon paper this week.
Doesn't sound like arrogance to me, on the part of Michelle Polzer. She withdrew her name for personal reasons, according to the Commonwealth, and for whatever reason, the Ripon Commonwealth reporter had more current info on the school board candidates than the Green Lake Reporter did. Anyone can purchase both papers with equal access on late Wednesday afternoons.
What it does sound like to me is some blogger who didn't bother to get the facts, immediately jumped to the conclusion that Ms. Polzer was too arrogant to follow the rules and portrayed her in a very unfair negative way. Now that..... sounds arrogant to me.
Very easy to rip into somebody like was done here. I wonder if same blogger will be big enough to extend a deserved public apology to Michelle on this blog?.
Let the members of the school board do their jobs. They've earned this right by being elected by the community in a democratic election. If you have a question or concern with how things are being run then discuss it directly with the board. Come to the open meetings and discuss your concerns or ideas. For example, if you look at the recent land issue between Lindenwood and the school the current idea of bypassing Lindenwood and discussing this issue directly with the ABA came about because the recommendation of a audience member. That's the way it should be in a democratic society. People also need to realize that everyone is trying to do what's best for the school and the community and once we stop making personal attacks anything can be accomplished.
I am absolutely horrified that Ken Bates' contract has been renewed. How can the school board members who approved this sickening decision live with themselves? Ken Bates has literally ruined our school and now you want to keep him on to do more damage to our community? You should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing this incompetent man to continue to destroy our childrens education. I truly cannot comprehend how these board members can justify renewing his contract. Ken Bates has been bad news from the very beginning. And you can just look at the financials to see that he is not doing a good job in any way, shape or form.
Everyone is NOT doing what is best for the community. Just look at Ken Bates and the school board members who just renewed his contract. The public should do whatever possible to reverse this decision.
About Ken:
Go ahead and try to undo his contract; it will cost nearly half a million dollars. It will bankrupt the school district and you will lose. Are you so stupid that you don't know that the school attorney works for the school not idiots like you.
Listen, rednecks, you done been whupped again so please put your houses up for sale and get out of town or at least take your sheets off and put them back on the bed.
Hey, Punchy, I've been waiting for you to jump back on here for at least a year; where you been bro?
Oh, by the way, don't take anymore nonsense off those characters.
I think we have a ball game now.
Ok, I think this is going to be a lot more fun now! Just let me get on the bus and sit down to watch the good times
Hey All Ya All,
We way down here in Del Rio, Texas been read'n' what you been 'riten' on da blog, and we got an idea that gonna fix ya up in no time.
Now that Kennie and Wendy Lou gett'n' all that free land from the ABA, what about a drive in baptismal car wash out there in that Lindenwood development where Genius Jones chopped down all those trees?
We could get the Six Sanctified Siters to sing "Hate the Sin and Love the Sinners" and make money for the Princeton football team by selling Sacred Chickens to go. What ya think?
Stop this communism right now or I'll throw your computer against the wall! Get off our blog and into my car.
Are we there yet?
Want things the way they used to be in Green Lake?
Anonymous 5:39 pm
How has Ken Bates "literally" ruined our school? Do you have a clue other than the "BS" rumor mill what's really going on at school. To blame Ken Bates for all the schools problems is tantamount to blaming Aaron Rodgers for the Packers losing season. I'm "horrified" that people such as yourself make ridiculous accusations about others without having to justify them. Without signatures these blogs become much less relevant.
Some of the bloggers responding to the Green Lake School District and Lindenwood controversy are hoodwinded, or at least coerced, perhaps unknowingly, about the failure of the current school administration and school board. If the school has failed at anything, it is complacency to respond while a vocal minority spews venom into the community.
Reabe? His property borders the Sunnyside proposal. He touts fiscal responsibility, but with a personal agenda. Can he represent your interests while tending his own? Get smart fast.
Deyo? Angry and bitter ex-teacher. He grinds an ax like Paul Bunyand. Personal vendattas against his former bosses, you think?
Pipho? She has an invested history and friendship with Deyo. Clouded judgement for sure.
And then there is JoAnne LaMire and followers, who faithfully attend school board meetings and chronically spout off and get it wrong. What is your agenda LaMire? You are a tired old malcontent who would have listeners believe you speak for the community. You do not. The jig was up long ago.
Bloggers who vent personal attacks against the school administration and supportive board members undermine the best interests of the school. And If they succeed? The loss of community identity and one-of-a-kind personal education system for Green Lake students, school consolidation, and higher property taxes for the rest of us.
Reabe, Deyo and Pipho do not represent what mainstream taxpayers and Green Lake School District community members hope and strive for.
These three Green Lake school board members and their hostile minority cohorts fail to contribute toward the greater good of the school community. Clean house—but do it right.
I have just wasted the last 45 minutes of my time reading through all your posts and have come to the conclusion you all need to get a life...you all sound like very bitter unhappy people that like to blame other people for your problems. Take some time off this weekend and try to get a life and be happy.
Deyo quit teaching about five years before the school district quit paying him. Even then, he got a $23,000 "buy out" insurance package to retire. This idiot is going to help the district by saving money? Do the right thing Dennis, and give us our money back and then resign. You "ain't no leader", just a fat, angry, bitter old man who never did get conntected to anyone or anything in real life and now you are trying to run for public support on the revenge for a life poorly lived ticket.
You are the same guy that told a community member that the administation was so currupt that you could prove that they are taking money from the school district. Blow hard, do you think your going to get away with these insults? Idiot, get an attorney fast; you will need one sooner or later with that big mouth on you that hangs open in a rather stupid fashion most of the time.
Oh, yeah, someone forgot to tell you that Board business gets conducted in the meeting not in the hallway after the meeting with your elephant sized x friends.
Get off the Board before your are forced to due to your gaping, idiot comments.
Deyo quit teaching about five years before the school district quit paying him. Even then, he got a $23,000 "buy out" insurance package to retire. This idiot is going to help the district by saving money? Do the right thing Dennis, and give us our money back and then resign. You "ain't no leader", just a fat, angry, bitter old man who never did get conntected to anyone or anything in real life and now you are trying to run for public support on the revenge for a life poorly lived ticket.
You are the same guy that told a community member that the administation was so currupt that you could prove that they are taking money from the school district. Blow hard, do you think your going to get away with these insults? Idiot, get an attorney fast; you will need one sooner or later with that big mouth on you that hangs open in a rather stupid fashion most of the time.
Oh, yeah, someone forgot to tell you that Board business gets conducted in the meeting not in the hallway after the meeting with your elephant sized x friends.
Get off the Board before your are forced to due to your gaping, idiot comments.
Pipho?
Check her out in the Board meetings. Nothing to offer, just filled with anger due to her public rant at a meeting a couple of years ago that got her booted off the sub list. "I made a fool of myself" equals she should be on the board? She's leading the students of our district? Oh, please say it isn't so.
The best way to save the district is to give Bates a ten year contract and bring in the National Guard to round up the angries and sent them to Gitmo.
Ok, go back about a month ago and bring back that one post about what is the Klan of the Kave Bears. What was the deal with that? Does anyone know?
Speaking of bringing back posts, how about the two that the Chef removed on the 22nd and the 23rd? I want to read those, how about you?
Ten year contract for Bates? No way; the only thing that can get things cleaned up is a life time contract. That's right! Kennie "Superintendent For Life" Bates. He's the only man that is going to get the focus on learning and not on who lost Red China.
Hey, anyone looking for a used Harley? Wow; Angry Americana at its max there. Ever checked out the way that character is filled with disrespect for anyone but other angry people? The way he goes off on Ken at board meetings is repulsive and needs to come to an end right now. If he was on the Packers, even his own teamates would trip him if he was running for a score.
Harley, 1950 is over and Ike and Dick have gone away. Anger and the well being of our students are not the same thing. Get some help; anger management classes are open for enrollment right now.
Klan of the Kave Bears? I was told by someone that works at the school that name was made up for for the bloggers at the library.
Thank Anonymous Feb.5th 8:48 pm
My sentiments exactly!
I
And to think we share our lives with you people... ?
Finally some blogs that tell it like it is. I'm sick and tired of the hypocrites that direct their complaints toward Ken Bates and Wendy Schultz. These two have always been easier targets because they're in the trenches actually doing something. Contrary to these two are Amy Pipho and Dennis Deyo who are just as conspicuous because their avoidance of dealing with controversial issues. They are spineless and more concerned about their image than improving the school and community.
In a normal educational setting Kennie "Superintendent" for life (not)would be focusing on improvement of instruction instead of land acquisitions. If all of your time is spent on trying to get free land you cannot possibly be doing what is best for our children. I do agree with you that Dennis should keep in big mouth shut and get off the board.
Dennis Deyo is a man of high moral fortitude. If you don't like his truthfulness, then too bad. Amy Pipho is also of excellent character. They are on the school board because they care deeply for our kids and the quality of education they (should) receive at our Green Lake schools. The entire community is shaking their head and wondering what the hell is going on at the school with Ken Bates and crew.
The only hope that Green Lake schools have right now are the common sense of Dennis, Amy and Harley, the only three members of the school board who are truly looking out for us.
It is pretty easy to figure out who made those comments about Dennis and Amy. It is someone who is at board meetings. Look around and who do you see? Sounds like the response of a very threatened individual or individuals. Talk about morally bankrupt---look in the mirror.
If anyone out there knows the Ripon and Green Lake newspaper reporters, please contact them so we can get to the bottom of the buy out for Dennis Deyo. A school employee told me today that the dollar figure mentioned in the previous blog did not include the amount spent on attorneys fees. So, this deal could be as much as 30K when you take that into account. Dennis, please speak up and tell the community the truth about what you did before you started attacking Ken for spending money on things that you thought you could score points on. You have to do the right thing now, and resign effective immediately. A board member can't take a buy out and you know it. This is like Barry Bonds becoming a cop now and arresting a baseball player for using steroids. Set an example and resign for the sake of our kids.
Great Sioux Nation must have been educated in GL. It took me 5 minutes to read thru all the creative spelling.
On Mr. Deyo, he is the most caring and decent teacher and person in Green Lake. Rip on him all you want....he knows he is one of the few good people, and you certainly don't have the virtue nor intelligence to judge him.
I think folks need to know a lot of this garbage on this thread is SPAM, with misspellings....or kids who have been smoking the dope they hide in their cars.
Also, Kristin is a good reporter. What you get from her are facts...not Tim Lyke's Pollyanna version of reality.
However, it does not surprise me that a lot of folks in Green Lake have mixed up morals, and think they can trash people of good character....as they go write letters to support child predators.
Maybe Dennis could shed some light on that situation, even tho it is unrelated, and you would see deep into the souls of your school board and some of the characters that control your town. There is a lot of pent up anger in this school system going way back. This school-land deal is small potatoes compared to the bad behavior of the district.
Why do you think so many good people have left this district? It is so dark and sleazy, it is beyond slime what goes on with these people.
Gee, maybe that mother of those girls should put up HER website again. People forget thing awfully fast....outa sight, outa mind.
To the last blogger...
What does that mean, "as they go write letters to support child predators".
I am confused. What context are you referring to? Who wrote what letters to support who?
Many of us would disagree about getting “facts” from the Green Lake Reporter. There are errors every week. Case in point, this week’s issue claims the school’s 2009-2010 budget is $763,000 in debt. Not true. The 2009-2010 budget is balanced, but don’t hold your breath for a correction. The attitude with the Green Lake Reporter is they will continue to print incorrect information, even when someone points out that it’s wrong. Believe me, I’ve tried. On multiple occasions, I’ve emailed the Green Lake Reporter and requested corrections on various errors. Nothing ever comes of it. They don’t even reply to my emails. They just pretend the error never happened. That paper also goes out of its way to ignore certain stories, even when other newspapers cover them. Call it a personal attack if you want, but I don't trust the information in that paper.
The short fall in the budget is actually in the 2010-2011 school year, not in the one that will begin this coming September (2009). However, that shortage is real and can not be fixed by cutting positions.
The Board has made it clear that we will have two (or fewer) administrators after the contracts of the current three employees have expired; two of the three end on June 30, 2010. They aren't going to be fired or released for any reason.
The repairs to the roof will most likely be in the neighborhood of $600,000 and the HVAC system will be in the $1.5 million ballpark. So, want to work together or continue the war?
Let's move away from the land deal and get to the next thing. The bottom line is we will get free ABA land or nothing. The BOE has told the boss that we aren't spending any more dollars fighting the developer.
So, if you want a school in Green Lake, start typing in your solutions on this or a new page and move on. Cutting positions alone will not save the school; I work there I know the facts. If you want me to respond without any further attacks, I will. However, I'm done after the first spanking.
Can shovel-ready money be tapped for the roof repair?
Look back in the history of this district circa 2003, in their notes and see how many times they went into 'closed' session. Look at newspaper reports. You don't know what kind of crap your rulers have pulled over the years.
To be honest, one case does not relate to the other in any aspect other than, these people think they are above the law. The school board and administrators will hire attorneys, lose records, invent records and basically do as they please. Why in God's name would your last administrator be under a 'gag' order?
You can disagree with Bates and Schultz, primarily Bates, but what would you do in his situation? Enrollment numbers are declining, money is drying up. The cutting is already to the core; except for a few and that won’t make a difference in the big picture. Focus on the basics and education you say... well, that still won't bring you more students. Area schools also offer fine educations. People really looking for a better academic education will look towards private schools.
Program offerings are what attract students. What can a student get a Green Lake; that he/she can't get elsewhere; right now, not much. What can Green Lake do to develop that unique niche in the market? The environmental academy offers some hope of some start up money (grants) that if handled right, may lead to programs that attract students. No doubt it’s a gamble. But Bates is going after it enthusiastically; developing partnerships, getting the word out, etc. And many of you are fighting him with all you have. What are you doing to help?
The Green Lake K-12 will NEVER again be the school it was when you were a kid. Just get over that. There is a chance it can re-invent itself. Successful companies do this all the time. If the Academy and IB program fail, be prepared for the only next option which is consolidation or merger with other schools. So scream, holler, write nasty notes; that’s all so unhelpful. Or, get behind what is probably the last opportunity for the school to survive.
One of the best learning tools out there is case study education (used at Harvard); let’s look at our town for this. For years, we heard, we don’t want to change; we don’t want to be like other (successful communities) we want to be quaint & quiet. Well you were successful in this. And when many folks now think about where to go on vacation, Green Lake is becoming less and less a thought for them. Let’s not let our school become like this. Let’s work together to make the Green Lake school name synonymous with the finest environmental education offerings in our state!
Wow! Some commonsense thought from the blog above. You are right on. All this whining about Ken & Wendy, blah, blah, blah. When do those same whiners ever stand up and give of themselves as Wendy and Ken have done, to try to do something new and fresh?
These whiners will be the same ones who will be standing there with a stupid look on their faces, when in a few years, after they've managed to put one more nay sayer on the board, and get their way,
wondering why there is a "closed" sign on the school and the city.
Businesses do re-invent themselves and move forward. Green Lake School can do the same or end up as some footnote in some history book years from now.
Hello again,
The warmer sky and melting snow are making me feel a little bit better today. I was on earlier re: I'm employed at the school and could be helpful to all of you if we can be civil here on the blog.
I worked with Nancy and stayed in contact with her after she left. It was her first district level position and she made some mistakes. I think I am the only person still employed at the school that she ever confided in totally. I want you to know that she was not and is not under any kind of binding agreement to remain silent. She is employed out west in our state near the Minnesota border and has phone, email, etc. to communicate or answer any questions for you. Or, if you want a short cut, ask and I'll tell you what I know, which is pretty much everything and I'm not limited by any court order or directive.
I'll be back later today or tonight to see if you have come up with anything or have questions.
As I understand what is happening a school district that is ranked in the 98.5 percentile in spending per student in the state, and in the 94.2 percentile in the nation (http://www.homesurfer.com/schoolreports/view/schoolreports.cfm?LEAID=5505880)due to the high numbers of expensive resort homes on the lake wants to grab some prime property from the developer (who is trying to add 180 high price and high taxable homes)and remove them from being taxable from a budget that is going to be in the red in a few years.Did I miss something?
No offense, but bringing Nancy Burns back into the mix helpd us today how?
I want to hear more about Nancy Burns, so please do elaborate. We were better off when she was the administrator than we are with Head Master Bates.
When she was being railroaded out of town, I read the papers voraciously, looking for a reason for our school board to terminate her contract. The fact is that no reason was ever given. One newspaper article mentioned that she misspelled a word or two in report that she wrote. That was the worst "dirt" I ever found on her. So what is the "real" reason she was forced out? I hope it wasn't because her spelling wasn't perfect. At least her heart was in the right place.
To the "Choose Wisely" Post at 11:34 am on Feb. 7th.
Thank you for your intelligent and civil response. I could'nt agree with you more.
Enrollment declined BECAUSE of Bates and Tracy, and it will continue to do so as long as they head up Green Lake Schools. Sugar coat it all you want but those two are not good for our community.
Ok, the union has had a decades long relationship with the community that it abused in relation to getting rid of anyone that tried to get certain faculty members to actually teach. You have to face that fact, that is what has happened over the last 25 years. Many teachers were not evaluated or evaluated only by a check list during that entire period of time.
When Nancy Burns was hired she tried to change that process, made a number of minor errors which showed her inexperience and she was cut loose after the union and several BOE members went after her pretty much from the first month she was there.
Talking about her won't actually help anything but the final deal with her was the senior government trip to DC and NYC. She more or less had a breakdown after the class advisors got the news about the student that had the car accident and passed away. She did not know what to do and basically locked herself in her room. When the group returned to Green Lake the details of the trip and her breakdown were given to the Board and the outcome was that Nancey was non-renewed with the right to complete her 3rd year if she resigned. The reason that was kept private Board was the fact that they had just renewed her contract and had given her another year in the face off growing opposition. If she would have had a real attorney instead of the person that represented her, she would have had a much bigger pay out, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, she was not a good fit for Green Lake because there isn't a good fit for the district, some are a little bit better than others, but in general the district is too deeply divided to embrace anyone that the conservative community members and the Board can't control.
I think you have to leave the land, the lack of state funding, and the current adminstration alone if you want to make some progress. Perhaps some members of the community aren't connecting with the fact that you have some huge financial issues that aren't going to be resolved by the constant bashing of decisions and people. I thinnk you guys are in a situation where it's move on or start figuring out where your children are going to attend in 2010. Vote "no" later this year in a referendum for salaries and building repairs and you will not have a school after June 30, 2010. If you want to see the facts, contact Mona or Shelly in the district office to get your copy of the upcoming expenses, or just make an appointment with them. The chance of keeping a school without the referendum passing is zero. Still want to waste time bashing?
To Anonymous 4:26 PM Feb.7th
No one's sugar coating anything.
Why must some of you insist on playing the blame game?
Sometimes things happen in spite of peoples best efforts to avoid them. The majority of rural schools in the state are losing enrollment - this isn't unique to Green Lake. There are many reasons for Green Lakes shrinking enrollment and frankly the majority of them are due to circumstances beyond anyones control. All one has to do is look at the shrinking employment in Green Lake and the surrounding cities to see the biggest culprit. Well over a thousand jobs jobs have been lost to business failures or downsizing over the past decade.
As stated in a earlier blog it's time to stop the destructive scapegoating that's gone on in the past and begin to work together to make our school and community a place we can all be proud of.
Go Ahead, continue to live in denial. What you call scapegoating is what I call responsibility, and there is not enough accountability for the going-ons up at school. Our expenditures are far too high, and yes that does include salaries among other things. We are overstaffed. Green Lake has a very small student population. I'll leave it at that.
Things are NOT okay at school. Far from it. Pretend all you want but the residents here in Green Lake know better than to keep going along with this administration. We are all fed up, and our school board truly failed to represent us when they voted to renew Bates contract. To Dennis Deyo, Amy Pipho and Harley Reabe, I commend you for your efforts in helping our schools here in Green Lake.
You are still not getting it, his contract was renewed; it's a done deal move on or ......just move. You can't fix your life by hating the school administration. They are in place until the end of June next year.
You don't work at the school but I do; ask anyone that has been employed there for a period of time, it's pretty quiet in the building. The noise is from the community, former employees, their friends, the library, and the blog.
No ones "living in denial" or saying the schools not having difficulties. One only has to read the blogs to see quite the contrary. It's your insistence to blame everything on a select few that I have a problem with. Also your view that the major problem at the school is expenditures is narrow thinking. Like in any business you can only cut so much out of the budget before it begins to effect the quality of the product. I believe the direction the school has recently taken is very shrewd. Both the Enviromental Academy and the IB program differentiate Green Lake from neighboring schools. With proper community support and marketing these differences could eventually turn the enrollment picture around.
Anonymous 7:05 pm
You sound like a immature child in a 3rd grade click. Dennis, Amy, and Harley you're my friends. Ken, Wendy, Gordy, Celest, and Jodine you're not. Give me a break! Rather than attempt to divide our school board, school administration as well as our entire community we need to be supportive of the entire group. You sound like a angry former employee or a close friend of one. Grow up and get a life! Also speak for yourself when you say "the school board failed to represent us when they voted to renew Bates contract". I for one believe they did in fact represent the majority.
The charter school and IB were great decisions, undo those efforts and we're the same as the schools around us.
Yup. Harley, Dennis and Amy should go back to school. Preferably a charter school with IB credentials. Maybe then they would see their supporters for who they really are--self-righteous knobs driven by hate, personal revenge and need for control. They are the same minds that burned witches.
you are sick. get some help.
Anonymous 12:02pm
Intelligent comeback. It's just verification that you can't discuss the situation intelligently so you have to resort to hurling insults at anyone who has a different opinion than yourself. Pretty immature don't you think?
You talk about burning witches and think that I have a problem? YOU are sick.
Blah, blah, blah.
Burning witches? I used a metaphor to communicate and express my views. People do that you know.
Jeezzz.
As of the 2/9/09 Oshkosh Northwestern, the school has reached agreement with the ABA on land.
We've known that since last week when the Ripon paper reported it.
Chief: time to close this one? I think all the opposing points of opinion have been shared. They've all agreed to disagree and move on.
Depending which view you take, you'll either continue to think:
1) Bates is an idiot that has ruined our school
2) Bates & Tracy are both idiots
3) Bates is a visionary who is only trying to save our school
4) Nancy Burns was ridden out of the school by some right wing union conspiracy.
5) The school has chance to re-invent itself as an environmental academy.
6) The school is doomed.
7) Schultz, Farrel, King & Depish are idiots and Deyo, Reabe & Piho know what they're doing.
7) Deyo, Reabe & Pipho are idiots and Schultz, Farrell, King & Depish know what they are doing.
8) The school spent way too much on attorney and the ABA gave them some land for it.
9)Lindenwood didn't play well with the school
10) The school didn't play well with Lindenwood
Or, 166 comments later, it's confirmed that no one really knows what the hell they are blabbering about anyhow and this has all been a foolish waste of time exercise.
Plato said,
'The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.'
I guess if you don't like it you don't have to read it.
Apathy?.. is the poster refering to the list of 10 above? I'd say it pretty much defines how people have lined up on this issue. I don't read any apathy into it. It looks pretty factual to me. And, everyone thinks their stance is the right one. The election this spring will determine which camp wins.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke
I heard that the school administration decided to offer a class that they had no qualified instructor to teach. Now Gary Krahn will be coming back to teach the remodeling course. Leave it to the cranially challenged administration at Green Lake High School to once again show the public their lack of ability in running a school. They never should have let Gary Krahn go in the first place. The student council could run the school better that Bates and Tracy.
Poster from 3:50 p.m: you are an absolute idiot! You are a totally clueless moron without any grasp on facts or reality. We had a teacher to teach the class; Gary had the legal right to return and did. You are probably one of the disturbed Board members or their friends, the Klan of the Kave Bears at the library, the LeMuck and Mire woman, or some other loser. Please stick your head in the toilet and flush until you pass out.
Or Gary or Marsha re: who wrote the post.
Of course it was Gary/Marsha...da.
I am not Gary or Marsha. I am none of the things you that you spewed out along with your own sickening hatred. You obviously don't like to hear about the reality up at school.
Here's reality up at school for all of you nay sayers. I attended the listening session held at the school
library tonight for the charter school.
What I saw was a fairly good sized group of parents asking intelligent questions, talking about the positive experiences their kids have had in the charter school, other parents asking questions who are considering this, some people from other districts looking into this, and talk about how to build it stronger for the future.
This has happened under Ken Bates and Wendy Schultz's watch... something new, something different, something that could benefit some of our kids at Green Lake. Imagine that, because if you read some of the blogs, you could think that nothing good has happened at the school in the past few years.
I have not posted before, but I cannot let this pass. I was at the school board meeting that the new class was proposed at. To the poster that stated, "I heard that the school administration decided to offer a class that they had no qualified instructor to teach. Now Gary Krahn will be coming back to teach the remodeling course" you are way off track.
Actually, the teacher that is teaching tech ed for the school right now, Craig Olson, went to the school board with a full proposal for the class. He presented at the January board meeting. He was very willing to teach the class. Gary Krahn has recall rights because his teaching time was reduced. Once the class was approved Gary was offered the class because of his recall rights. If he had decided not to take the class, Craig Olson would have taught the class.
Why would you post something that is so far from the truth? You should start attending the board meetings or actually call the school for information before you post such untruths!
Poster from Feb.10th at 3:50 PM
I'm not sure what knowledge you have that I don't about the specifics that went into the decision to let Gary Krahn go. I run a small business and can tell you from first hand experience that reducing someones hours or worse yet laying them off is one of the most difficult and burdensome aspects of the job. I know both the administration and board had to make tough decisions when it came to reduction in hours or the actual elimination of teachers altogether. Similar to youself, I feel very bad not only for Gary Krahn, but for all the laid off teachers as well as the ones who took reduction in hours/pay. This being said I also know both the school administration and board had to make decisions they believed were in the best long term interest for the school regardless of how popular it might be recieved by the lay person. People need to understand that being a good administrator or board member isn't a popularity contest and at times will require them to make decisions that won't necessarily be supported by everyone. I for one am impressed with how professional and ethical the administration and board have acted under a great deal of pressure. Hopefully in the future, whether you agree with a member of the administration or board or not, we can all be more civil and respectful towards them. It takes a lot of courage and sacrifice to do what they do and for this they have my upmost respect and admiration.
Jim Sonntag
PS Also a big thank you goes out to Ken Giacoletto and the ABA for their generous donation of land to the school as well as everything eles they've done over the years for our community.
Good comments, Jim, but I have to disagree about the "generous" donation from the ABA. The whole charade makes me want to vomit because 1. The school spent an enormous amount of money on legal fees without the public’s knowledge or blessing, 2. The school demanded the second-most valuable land from Lindenwood, 3. The school then settled for a “gift” of land elsewhere at the ABA, but the ABA can keep using that land like always. The ABA will save thousands of dollars in taxes every year for basically doing nothing. Seems to me the school was seriously out-negotiated.
All the school did was take a valuable piece of land off the tax role to save face when they could have used it for free.
"I know both the administration and board had to make tough decisions when it came to reduction in hours or the actual elimination of teachers altogether."
I still don't understand why Gary Krahn was let go, only to have a different teacher take his place.
Michelle Rhee has completed her first year as DC Schools Chancellor, and was featured in the cover story in TIME back in December. She is transforming the failing D.C. school system by "cutting the fat" and upgrading the quality of teachers. Rhee wants more freedom in firing bad teachers and the ability to promote good teachers. Unlike past administrations that paid lip service to the concept of merit pay, Rhee advocates tying teacher compensation to performance.
Rhee fired 98 employees of D.C. school system's central office. Rhee wants to establish a culture of accountability. Rhee dismissed 24 school principals in 2008. Additionally, Rhee fired 22 assistant principals last June. Rhee has closed as many as 23 schools in her first year. Last November, Rhee introduced a plan to close 24 schools in the future.
The results of Ms. Rhee's efforts thus far are very positive for D.C. schools, evident in the statistics.
The very sad fact is that many excellent teachers left Green Lake High School when Bates and Tracy made the atmosphere at school so unpleasant that teachers and students left for greener pastures. What some might call "difficult decisions", others might have choicer words for. If the current administration and school board put the education of the students first, several administrative jobs would be cut before valuable teachers are let go. Now Bates and Tracy are trying to lure students back to Green Lake High School, after they were responsible for driving families away. If you want to continue to turn a blind eye to this, go right ahead. Based on performance, Bates contract should NEVER have been renewed.
I agree that Bate's contract should not have been renewed. Why wasn't there a public forum to discuss the issue? In these economic times, when Princeton are multitudes of other school systems are downsizing their administrative costs, this topic should have been explored in depth. Shame on the school board for once again letting down the public.
Also, I agree with the blogger about the Conference Center's gift to the school. No skin off their nose, a very clever move on their part. I also believe that Ken Bates should personally have to repay the legal fees since he did not gain board approval to hire the attorney and no chance in hell at obtaining the land that was simply not available to the school. Everyone else seemed to understand this simple concept, any intelligent person would.
Amen to the post above. By the way, there's an excellent editorial in this week's Ripon paper by Tim Lyke, nailing the school for wasting money on these pie-in-the-sky fantasies on land ownership. It's a great read for anyone who shares common sense.
God Forbid that the school administration should be fiscally responsible and accountable for their actions.
So you're saying that getting 6-8 acres of lakefront property for school use indefinitely for $11,000 is a bad deal? If you can find any other way for anyone to get 6-8 acres of lakefront property for that money, I'll bet you'd have lots of takers.
Whatever motivated the ABA to step forward to end the stand-off, it looks to me like the school and our kids will benefit. If the ABA gets a tax break and Lindenwood Development is able to yet again escape without giving up anything (how DO they manage that?), so what? Sounds like everyone got what they wanted. Time to move on.
Yes, I am saying that was a bad deal. I can't believe you would even suggest otherwise.
No, it's not time to move on. The school needs to stop trying to sweep their own arrogance and wasteful spending under the rug. Contrary to the school’s positive spin, the public needs to know a few facts:
1. The school has spent WAY more than $11,500. The most recent grand total did not include January or February legal bills.
2. The school foolishly continued to fight and spend additional legal fees on a lost cause for months. The school only went to the ABA to settle the matter after admitting there was no way in hell that Lindenwood would hand over the second-most valuable land in the Estates of Lawsonia.
3. The school, NOT Lindenwood, ultimately ended the negotiations by going behind Lindenwood’s back and brown-nosing to the ABA in January. Then the school whines about how Lindenwood “got out” of giving away land.
4. The public never authorized or even had a chance to weigh in on the School Board’s desire to fritter away time and money on real estate, which by the way is available in spades to the public in this area.
5. Now that it’s done, everyone won EXCEPT the school. The ABA saves tax dollars while Lindenwood preserves their subdivision. Meanwhile, the school has pissed away tens of thousands dollars on something already available for free, then has the gall to proclaim it a win-win. Furthermore, the School Board has lost even more respect from many of us residents, whose requests for fiscal responsibility have been ignored. I wonder if our School Board members would be this careless with their own money.
6. Green Lake students absolutely will NOT benefit any more from this particular land gift than if they had used other property open to the public in this area. That is a fact, but the school will never admit it. Instead the school will claim “This was the best land for our students after all.” Baloney. The school wanted a shrine to themselves.
7. Deeding waterfront land to the school removes it from the school’s tax role. How absolutely foolish when residents are already concerned about property taxes.
8. The school has worsened its own reputation as wasteful and haughty by demanding to be landowners instead of living within their means.
Excellent blog, very well said. Thank you. This really says it all.
to Feb 12 at 1:05 who said it's time to move on...
I agree 100%. It's over and now each party can move on to whatever their next steps - The ABA and Lindenwood Development can proceed with their development and the school can start growing their ecology program. This horse is dead and it's time to stop beating it.
That sounds exactly what the school would say. "Let's quickly move on and hopefully no one from Green Lake or anywhere else will remember our greed and foolish spending in trying to grab lakefront land."
Instead of dodging the issue, perhaps the people running our school could answer to why the situation got out of hand (and not just blame someone else).
I agree. Where is the accountability? Why are our children expected to face consequences for their actions and yet the school keeps acting like they are above scrutiny for some (???) reason. Ridiculous. The horse is not dead. It is time to for certain people to take responsibility their actions. This is not going to go away until that happens.
Is it time for the school to die and the community to adjust accordingly? Green Lake kids can always attend adjacent community schools (Berlin, Princeton, Ripon).
Maybe that is what Bates wanted all along. His next move will be to talk about a virtual school for Green Lake.
Than we wouldn't have to fix the roof or the heating system!
It's just a matter of time before we have to consolidate. I have heard that student population continues to decline, and open enrollment is pulling students to other schools (and deservedly so.) Until we have a new school administration, student population will continue to decline. The school board is responsible for much of this, as they are the ones who renewed Bates contract. You could have turned our school around, but you have in fact led to it's demise. Good going.
Blogger from Feburary 12 @ 8:55 AM as well as anyone eles wondering why Gary Krahn was let go.
The reason is quite simple. The classes Gary taught didn't have enough kids signed up for them to justify paying someone full time to teach them. In this example "Letting Gary go" sounds like common sense to me as well as pretty good "Fiscal Responsiblilty" on the part of the administration and board.
You also mention that many "excellent" teachers left Green Lake due to Tracy and Bates. Myself and many others in our community would beg to differ with you on this. Some of these "excellent" teachers had big egos and little regard for anything other than their own selfish interests. As inferred by a blogger on Feburary 7 @ 6:05 PM many teachers believed that after they attained tenure nothing they did could be challenged due the protection afforded them by the teachers union. The current administration and board finally "had the balls" to stand up to some of these teachers and hold them accountable. For obvious reasons this didn't sit well with some of the teachers. Many of us believe this turnover of teachers and aids actually "culled out" some of the "bad apples" making our school the better for it.
Excellent blog. My sentiments exactly. Thank you.
It's interesting to see how a handful of bitter people full of hatred are attemting to sabotage everything the school is attempting to accomplish. It's apparent no matter what the school does this group will be in direct opposition to it. The recent gift of land from the ABA to the school is an excellent example of this. When it became clear that Lindenwood wasn't going to cooperate with the ordinance requiring the "gifting" of land the school astutely "cut their losses" by ending negotiations with Lindenwood and went directly to Ken Giacoletto at the ABA to see if he could facilitate negotiation efforts. Rather than just assist the school with negotiations Ken and the school were able to "think outside the box" and come up with a much better solution to the problem. Both the school and the ABA deserve a pat on the back for their creative problem solving. Instead this small group of revengeful people can only find fault with the schools "wasteful" spending for legal fees in the original negotiations with Lindenwood. These same people would be the first in line to accuse the school for being derelict in their responsiblites if they didn't secure legal counsel in their negotiations with lindenwood. Another argument brought up by the land gifting is removing it from the tax role. This is very hypocritical. When individuals donate to a charity or cause they're allowed to write this off for tax purposes - why should the ABA be treated any differently? Of course they should have a tax break from their gifting, but to claim this is their only motive is insulting and disrespectful. Finally, it's very ignorant to believe that the school didn't benifit from the land gifting but rather could have simply used "other property open to the public". The benifits of having a dedicated parcel of land for school use versus random public property are too numerous to address in this blog.
The problem is, the school refused to accept “no” for an answer regarding the million dollar Lindenwood land. Over and over, our school has painted Lindenwood as trying to avoid giving something away. That’s simply not true. Lindenwood made various land proposals to settle this mess but nothing was ever good enough for our little school. All the while, the school’s legal bills continued upward. Did the public object? Of course. But did the district cease and desist? Of course not.
Simply put, it’s the school’s attitude that has aggravated so many people. Why was it not enough to live within our means and use the multitude of other eco-friendly properties in the area? I have read the Green Lake Sanitary District owns several dozen acres of environmentally sensitive land with lakefront in Sunnyside, and that it’s available for public use. Why couldn’t the school have used this?
Instead, the school’s back-patting arm is doing overtime regarding the Conference Center’s “gift” of several acres by the Tea House. Let’s be painfully honest. There was no need for this valuable lakefront land to come off the tax roll other than for the district to save face and the Conference Center to save tax dollars, but the school is painting it as the greatest thing since mashed potatoes. It’s simply astounding for a governmental body to celebrate a shrinking tax base. Don’t tell me it’s “all about the students” because they already had access to plenty of other land elsewhere.
Clearly, the school looked foolish after demanding million dollar land from Lindenwood and getting spanked. This whole charade of being “given” land by the Tea House is all about the school saying, “See? See? It was all worth it!” After this much time and money spent, was it?
Yes, you said that very well! And the school still doesn't "get it".
A few blogs back, someone starts with: "It's interesting to see how a handful of bitter people full of hatred are attemting to sabotage everything the school is attempting to accomplish."
Let me clarify this.
#1 There are a lot of people who are extremely concerned about the unacceptable activity taking place at the school, not just a handful.
# The people who are concerned about the unacceptable activity taking place at the school are not acting out of hatred but rather love and conern for our children's education and the welfare of the community.
#3 The people who are concerned about the unacceptable activity taking place at the school are not "attempting to sabotage everything the school is attempting to accomplish" but rather to raise serious concerns and make others aware of these concerns and hopefully, in the end, have the administration take responsibility for their actions.
When everything is running as it should at the school, then the public outcry should cease.
It's apparent you're not going to ever concede that the property the school had gifted to them was an excellent deal - even when taking into consideration the legal fees from the initial negotiations.
From personal knowledge I can tell you the Tea House property is an exceptional parcel for the school. It is ecologically diverse, very accessible, and has a building which could be utilized.
Good job securing such a fantastic site for future generations of Green Lake students to ultilize.
Excellent blog! I could'nt agree with you more. Reabe, Deyo and Pipho need to realize there's more to managing the school then simply cutting costs. Just as critical is developing a unique niche to attract students and staff. I believe that the IB program and the enviromental academy offers the school its best chance for success. The Tea House property is a step in the right direction.
This is not about Reabe, Deyo and Pipho, it goes far beyond that.
Many of the citizens in our community will not concede that this was an excellent deal, because it wasn't. Did you read Tim Lyke's editorial on this subject in last weeks Ripon newspaper? It is not just a handful of people who are outraged by the complete lack of responsibility. I am fed up. I am mad as hell. That's right. You read it right here. And I'm not the only one.
This is not about the children or their education and everyone knows it. If this was such a unique niche to attract students and staff, then why is enrollment down again, after open enrollment? This delusional experiment is not what the public wants, that is why.
What really pisses me off is that Ken Bates and his cohorts are not going to stand up and admit that they have flagrantly wasted money that should have been invested in our school. Ken Bates, do you have any idea how angry the public is at you? And yet you are such a weenie that you will not stand up and say "I made a mistake". It sure is hard to forgive someone who refuses to admit that they have done anything wrong. Gee, sounds like the definition of a psychopath to me.
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