The following people are running for the Green Lake School Board:
1. Sandburg
2. Reabe
3. Meade
4. King
Have at it everyone!
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3 months ago
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
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41 comments:
It’s high time for the school to end this silly fantasy of owning 38 acres of Sunnyside. Why is this still being discussed? The Administration’s dreams of having school-owned land came true in February after months of negotiations with Lindenwood and the ABA. Look what that got us – an enormous legal bill for a piece of land that’s just like other public lands in the area. Way to go.
What’s most frustrating about the Sunnyside proposal is that the School Board has never bothered to ask local taxpayers whether they support it. First and foremost, the school should have asked citizens, “Do you want the school to own this land?” But no, a public forum/informational session has never been held. Why? The Board holds “listening sessions” on everything else under the sun, from health and wellness to football merging, but not the Sunnyside proposal. Instead, the Board farted around for several months, trying to find Sunnyside grant money without knowing or caring what the public wanted. That’s absolutely backwards because in the end, the citizens still have to approve buying the land.
So now, since the School Board was rightfully embarrassed by the Lindenwood/ABA land fiasco, the Board is conveniently waiting until after the election to publicly decide what to do about Sunnyside. Perhaps if the Board had bothered to ask for citizen input in November when the idea was first splashed all over the newspaper, the Board would have realized it wasn’t well supported and could have dropped the idea then rather than wasting more time. It’ll be interesting to see if Board members continue to twiddle their thumbs, or finally wise up and forget the idea. This was a silly concept from the start because
1. It’s a liability.
2. It takes good property away from future agriculture, housing or development.
3. Countless acres of public property are already waiting to be used, including dozens of acres of conservancy land adjacent to the school’s proposed Sunnyside piece.
4. We are a school, not the Spotted Owl Foundation. Enough with this incessant push for environmental education in Green Lake.
5. The school already looks foolish because of the million-dollar land demands from Lindenwood. Let’s not make it worse by buying another 38 acres somewhere else. One wonders where the school's priorities are.
I stand and applaud you! Every word you say is exactly the way it is, thank you so much for expressing it so well. Did you read the recent article in the Ripon Commonwealth on this subject? Charlie Marks expressed his frustration in trying to work with the school. "...I'm not getting direction from the school" he says. Nice of our administration to string him along like that.
But truly none of that matters because the previous blogger has it right. The public doesn't want the Sunnyside land, and was never even given the courtesy of a meeting to discuss it.
I am hopeful that the election next week will bring a new voice of reason that we need in the school board. The insanity in the Green Lake School District must end. The past few years have been a mind-numbing stream of bad decision making with no accountability. I want to see accountability become a requirement of the school board, with clear public understanding of all that goes on. I'll be casting my vote for Harley and Emmet.
If accountability were the requirement, then your two-cents would not be on this blog.
You duds (not dudes) are way off the mark.
Oh really? Care to share exactly where the first two posts are inaccurate?
Based on the eye-opening primary results, it’s obvious that Harley Reabe has wide support and will be re-elected. The question now is who gets the second seat. Will it be Meade Grim or Emmet Sandberg? As much as I like Emmet, I’ve never seen him at a School Board meeting. Meade is there every month. Perhaps the best choice for the second seat is Meade, because he can hit the ground running.
It would really help to know more about these two candidates and their views on the school issues. Many of the answers they gave a few weeks ago in the paper were a bit vague.
Things are getting nasty behind the scenes at the Green Lake School Board for the three board members who have the courage to question the administration and its four other backers on the Board. If you support what Harley Reabe, Dennis Deyo and Amy Pipho are doing for us, and their common sense, let them know they are greatly appreciated.
Did you get a chance to read the article in this week's newspaper regarding the staff cuts at the school? It happens to be on the front page of the Green Lake Reporter, right above the article about the possibility of the Sunnyside property purchase.
Oh the irony! Oh the insanity! Oh the stupidity!
This article about the staff cuts comes less than one month after the "School Talk" column by Ken Bates, dated March 5th, where he states:
"In the past four years we have made staffing cuts and because of good planning don't anticipate having to make many for the next year. While it may be tempting to raise class sizes, it would go against the philosophy started a long time ago in Green Lake. The philosophy was to have small classes in the elementary school and offere a variety of high school courses. I believe that was a sound decision."
So Ken Bates believes that small class sizes are great, trying to justify the fact that the school is shrinking every year, mostly because of his ineptness as an administrator. But oops, sorry Bill, Mary, Peter and Patricia, we don't have enough students to justify paying you. However, we will pay for a principal, curriculum coordinator and and overpriced "superintendent" who should be doing the 3 jobs in one in a school of 300 students!
Do you have any idea what these 3 positions mean in salary and benefits???? This is almost criminal! I am ready to make a big sign and march outside the school every day. Ken Bates should just hand in his resignation.
No matter how you look at this, it's a travesty.
You have it wrong--again. Deyo, Pipho and Reabe? Better watch your back.
Everyone knows that it is the board, not administration, the requests cuts/reductions when a teacher does not have enough courses to teach full-time.
Your bitching is personal--not rational.
Last poster...you are absolutely correct! The "administration" has nothing to do with the cuts. And it would appear that Ken Bates has nothing to do with the school if he (A) writes articles for the newspaper that (B)two weeks later he TOTALLY contradicts.
This just shows how far removed he is from the realities at the school and worse - how far removed people like you (lemmings?) are for believing any of his B.S.
Bates, and his colleagues, are on a power trip. They have become nothing more than a self-perpetuating entity, not wanting to deal with the hard, cold fact that the GL School District is a dinosaur in a race to the tar pits with the other school districts which are too small to be feasible. Time to consolidate when you don't have enough students to keep teachers employed.
If these "concerned" members of the administration really,truly cared about keeping the school operational perhaps they could reallocate a portion of their exorbitant salaries to keep teachers working. But no, keep cutting the educators with no reduction in administrative expense...doesn't something seem wrong with that picture.
Let's do the math:
Less students + less teachers = LESS ADMINISTRATORS. Oh wait...that's not the right answer according to the bums up at our school.
Go ahead and believe it is all good at the school and vote for those that will ultimately drive this school right into the ground...it's got a great head start with Bates and his gang at the helm.
Wrong again, Rod-boy. If Green Lake school consolidates with any neighbor, everyone's taxes increase. It's true.
Do the math, Rod-boy.
“You have it wrong--again. Deyo, Pipho and Reabe? Better watch your back.”
Sounds like a threat. Anyone who’s been paying attention knows there’s a 4-3 split on the Board on certain matters of interest, with Deyo, Pipho and Reabe on one side. It’s clear that certain school leaders don’t like that because they want everyone to think the Board stands together.
Let’s be honest. The reason certain school leaders don’t like the minority is because it’s obvious that those three represent a growing majority of local residents. Amy Pipho and Dennis Deyo were elected in a landslide last year while Wendy Schultz nearly lost. Then in the February 2009 primary, Harley came in first while Celest King was fourth. With all due respect to Celest, the voters are clearly looking for change.
Be sure, the rest of the School Board and Administration are aware of this voting pattern. It’s making some of them nervous. Hence, we get “Deyo, Pipho and Reabe? Better watch your back.” Perhaps after the balance of power shifts after this election, the School Board leadership will wake up about what citizens want and don’t want in a school. Let's stop pretending that most people support the school’s direction and curious spending habits. Recent elections don’t support that.
As we all saw, certain School Board members and the Administration dug their own graves by making ridiculous land demands from Lindenwood for months on end while the attorney fees piled up. The whole idea was to receive a donated piece of land. It’s simply in poor taste to challenge a gift from someone by asking for something better. Instead of creating an environmental shrine to ourselves in the ABA and now Sunnyside, maybe the district could bother to ask taxpayers what THEY want. When the situation got tense with Lindenwood, the school should have asked the citizens, “Should we continue to demand the million-dollar Woodland Court, even if it means additional legal fees?” The Board never bothered to ask the public’s opinion because we all know what the answer would have been. This is the same School Board leadership that has yet to ask if the public even wants to buy Sunnyside land. This is the same leadership that never held a public input session on whether to force “IB” on the whole district either.
Right now, the School Board leadership and the Administration aren’t interested in the public’s opinion, unless it’s something fluffy like “health and wellness” or football. On April 7th, the public will be heard.
Dear Lemming,
If you actually read what was written I never mentioned taxes decreasing or increasing. But I agree, let's go with your plan and have classes of 2 or 3 kids. That's real fiscal responsibility. In fact, let's go one step better and shoot for a student to teacher ratio of 1:1. I'm sure the administration wouldn't decrease...In fact, you'd probably need a few more chiefs with fewer people to watch over.
It would be very difficult to do any "math" with regard to a consolidation. Burr Z. recently put information on this blog sight that was nothing more than conjecture with regard to a tax increase being realized through consolidation. It might be true and then again, it may not be...can't really tell until the 'real' numbers are put to the test.
One thing is for certain, we can't keep things going as they are and expect any positive change. Money is flowing out of the school and there is no return on investment.
I will apologize for challenging your intellect by including that difficult mathematics problem in my earlier post (hint - the answer was included for you simpletons). It seems pretty evident to any reasonably intelligent person that the GLSD is way too top heavy.
Like many of you, I am extremely frustrated with the current situation up at the school. The new staff cuts are a prime example of the poor job that Ken Bates is doing as administrator. Of course you pro-Baters will say that the school board was the one to decide, but it all boils down to one man who is not running the school very well. If this were a (real) business, Ken Bates would be fired.
I am fine with the fact that there were other cuts in (?) supplies, makes you wonder what exactly this includes, it is probably long overdue. One thing that really irks me is that my family and I strive to be frugal and responsible at home with our money and resources. In these hard economic times, most people are watching their finances more closely and taking steps to conserve. Yet when I am in the school it is so hot in the classrooms that I can barely stand it. I can't imagine what their fuel bills are costing! Why can't the kids wear a sweater like they do at home? Even the teachers complain about it being too hot in the building. And then I drive by the school early in the morning, and the doors and windows to the work-out facility are wide open, with the heat pouring out the door. I'm sorry, but this is an extreme and vulgar waste of our tax dollars. Besides, the point of exercising is to sweat and get a good workout. This type of wasteful spending has got to end. There is absolutely no way to justify it. So much for being a "green" school! What a freaking joke.
The administration and school board president are getting increasingly desperate as they see this whole thing closing in on them. This is when they might be the most dangerous. They will try to put blame on anyone but themselves for the future consolidation or whatever is in the wings for GL school. One is absolutely clear---the damage to the district is all theirs, along with Tracy's. Poor decisions without any regard for the students, parents, and community caused all of this.
Support those board members who are representing the good aspects of Green Lake. They will certainly be targets for those whose will not take responsibility for ruining it for the whole community!
I’ll admit I don’t always agree with Ken Bates or the direction/actions of the School Board. But I do wish people would be more specific when they have criticisms or concerns. Instead of making vague allegations about Ken Bates and Jon Tracy “ruining the school” and the Administration’s “poor decisions,” let’s hear some concrete, specific examples.
Face it, student enrollment would be dropping with or without Ken Bates, and the school funding formula would be the same as well. The school needs maintenance and the payroll still needs to be met, no matter who’s running the school. If you want to criticize, then criticize things Ken Bates can actually control. Give specific examples.
As for the recent staff cuts, if you’ll read the real newspaper that had the whole story and the facts correct, you’ll see that the cuts were done to provide flexibility next fall. The Board can easily reinstate someone’s hours later on, but the Board cannot cut that person’s hours after April 15. Lots of districts give preliminary “reduction notices” to staff just to be safe, knowing that those teachers could be reinstated later once the student enrollment and class sign-ups are finalized. Let’s wait and see what happens before jumping all over the situation.
Feel free to criticize (it’s a free country) but at least have the insight to provide real examples rather than blanket generalizations. I’m tired of bloggers demanding that Ken Bates or Jon Tracy resign without ever providing specific reasoning, not just hearsay or petty differences.
Amen to the last blogger. Everything you said,,, I agree with. People keep whining about the ABA land acquisition or declining enrollment. Do you honestly think there would be more students attending Green Lake if the board hadn't acquired the land there?
Or do you think more people would have stayed if Ken hadn't introduced a charter school concept? Give it a rest. At least he has made efforts to bring new programs to the school. And he has tried hard to get the community connected to the school with his efforts with the groups he has connected to. Let's go through the short list of the two previous administrators. The last one was famous for......................................................................... nothing. And the one before that? Famous for ........................................................ nothing again! Ken has tried to work on reading programs, technology, art,
getting teachers trained in new concepts, moving dead wood out of the school and the office, adding a charter school, adding an IB program, and more than I am thinking about at the moment, and yes, getting some waterfront land for environmental study that cost the community $15,000. Has he been perfect? No. Do all of his ideas work? No. But give it a rest. The man is a decent human being, with a nice family, a good career in education, and a love of Green Lake, both the community and the school. You can raise an army of voters and force him out, that is true, but I hope some of you on the witch hunt take time to talk with other districts and find out how difficult these positions are to fill with lack of good candidates. and hold. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
Oh my...where to start with this list:
Here are a few to start with but, by no means a complete listing -
1) $15,000 wasted on Discover Wisconsin when there are staff cuts; equipment needs; etc.
2) The ABA / Lindenwood situation
3) The Sunnyside situations
4) Exorbitant legal expenses for "free" land from Lindenwood
5) Cut the Tech Ed / Reinstate the Tech Ed fiasco
6) Legal fees / Back pay to teachers who had filed grievances in the last 2 years. Yes, grievances caused by Bates and Tracy.
7) When the teachers were cut a few years back, the administration received pay increases. I'm sure neither of them had a say in it (right)!
8) Lack of community awareness to the real issues, wants and needs. Stop living in a "pie in the sky" world
9) The simple fact that our school can'not support such a top heavy administration. Why doesn't Bates or Tracy handle the assignments of the Curriculum Coordinator and cut that expensive position. Or, better yet, keep Deb Kneser (I am told she actually does quite a bit at the school) and get rid of Tracy or Bates, OR COMBINE THE ADMINISTRATOR / PRINCIPAL POSITIONS LIKE PRINCETON DID
10) Both Bates and Tracy's inability to deal with issues that actually ARE important to the school (ie: the Chuck Mirr situation; the Lindenwood situation; etc.) and stop spending time promoting The Cornerstone Project; The Rotary Club; The Chamber of Commerce; The Library Board; etc. Bates should just get a job at the Chamber...he might do more good there than what he's done at the school.
The list will continue...I'm sure more bloggers will enjoy itemizing the many issues with e.j.t and kenny.
Whomever blogged earlier about what The Good Ken hath done:
Ken Bates love of Green Lake (hmnn..lives in Markesan; has a home and business in Columbus - definitely "loves" GL).
$15,000 for land that could have, and should have,been free.
Attracted 'anyone' with the IB and Lake Studies program (I'm pretty sure enrollment is down and you can actually look at the plus/minus info on students who have opted in since open enrollment was introduced...I'm pretty certain we are on the minus side of the equation).
Moving dead wood out of the school...Oh, I'm sure much of the "dead wood" which make up this community will take umbrage to that one. He definitely cleaned house by getting rid of some very talented, and caring, individuals.
Staff cuts because of low enrollment. Hmmm....No one has mentioned that the teachers possibly being cut next year teach Math, Social Studies and English. If the core classes don't have enough students, what classes are these kids taking? Sorry, but I don't understand how taking French and Art will help any student get a job in the real world. They should also all be taking more computer classes. You can't even apply for a job anymore unless you do it on a computer. Let's face it, any student graduating from Green Lake in the next few years is doomed.
It seems to me that the school of Green Lake is trying to do the things that the city of Green Lake should be doing. Spend money, hire employees, fire employees, look at all prospects, constantly reinvent itself in order to survive. Maybe the school is looking bad because the city is not doing these things. You better wake up city and take a stand.
Oh Brother, give it up. There is no credibility to your statements. To say that the school is constantly reinventing itself to survive is just too ironic for words. Ken Bates and his cohorts simply have too many irons in the fire, with the green charter school, the IB school, the earth partnership school, the tech academy(?)etc. etc. etc. school. It seems that every month they are announcing another school that they "wannabe".
When you examine the sporadic order of events since Ken Bates has taken over Green Lake schools, it shows anything but a true sense of direction. Sadly, it's been a costly lesson for us taxpayers. It's taken it's toll on our community, and it is time to move on and try to heal our school. Please vote wisely on Tuesday!
It is indeed time for the city to wake up and take a stand. Let's get the right school board members in place (keeping one already in place) and get this ship righted before it goes any further off course.
The last blogger is absolutely right in saying this ridiculous "shot-gun" approach of the last several years at the school must come to an end. This school, and community, need to come up with a comprehensive education plan which has both measurable short and long-term goals. This plan needs to be a collaboration between the administration, the school board and the community. The community needs to be informed of the direction and (here's the important part)must be in agreement with the plan.
No more 'pie in the sky' dreams, just back to basics education. Yes, you can succeed without all of the different menu choices the school presently espouses. Offering more AP courses is a great start and it gives the students who participate in them an incredible jump-start for college (not to mention the money saved through accumulating college credits while in high school).
Let's start the process by putting the right school board in place and letting them work through the issues with our (yes, the communities) involvement and input...it's not too late to admit many things were done wrong, it can still work with the right pieces in place.
I have no children in the Green Lake Schools, but I am a taxpayer, so I am certain that my opinion should count.
We have read alot of ideas and opinions about the direction of the school. I don't agree with all of them and some of them I don't even understand. We have never heard anything about the actual number of students in each class, the percentage of GL students that do go on to 4 year colleges, tech school or go into the work force. Are we meeting the needs of these students no matter which catagory they fit into? Will it become impractical to maintain a 12 year school in Green Lake or is consolidation something that will come in the future and if so, what will happen to the programs that are costing us many $'s now? I do agree that our school is administration heavy and something needs to be done. We should not be releasing teachers that directly effect the educatin process, and retaining administration that could be combined.
As a taxpayer, it is my duty to select and vote for the people that to me seem to have the knowledge to get the information they need to make good decisions for both our school and myself as a taxpayer. I plan on doing that on Tuesday.
Yes we are all under financial stress, and it is time for our school to become more responsible financially or answer to the taxpayers come election time. We are always looking to cut money out of the budget, by eliminating staff, maybe its time we start charging for participation in some of the sports and special programs that seem to be so important to some people. When was the last time you heard of the cost involved in football, basketball, or baseball for the year? Maybe its time to ask ourselves What is the reason we send our children to school?
Thank you Gloria for raising these important points and questions. Our current administrator has left our school in a state of disarray. The school wants to be portrayed as a public school with a private school atmosphere, and it sadly misses the mark. And we the taxpayers have to pay for the many poor decisions and inefficiencies. Perhaps the school should narrow it's myopic focus and gain a sense of (actual) direction. Everything that the school is attempting is much too scattered and disorienting. Where is the leadership? The administration and the (certain) school board have truly failed our community.
First rate teaching along with fiscal responsibility should be our top priorities. There has been too much rampant spending and this has to end. There is hope for positive change, and for that I am grateful. Vote on Tuesday, please, we all need to take an active part and make a difference.
As I read through the issues of other school districts, such as Markesan, Ripon and Oshkosh, I hear also of rising costs, trying for referendums, declining enrollments, trouble with the state funding formula, smaller schools consolidating, and just a lot of struggles. I read in the Milwaukee Journal this week-end that some 234,000 teachers are getting cut across the country. We may just be in the middle of a very tough time
for schools, no matter who the administrators' are or who is on the school board. In other words, are some of these forces beyond local control?
We shall see as the next few years unfold, and what happens with the economy.
.
Exactly correct last blogger. What is happening at our school with regard to cutbacks is not exclusive. It is happening everywhere. And yes, it would be the same regardless of the administration.
However, because the administration has been negligent on so many levels with regard to ill advised spending on things unrelated to education, it is relevant.
We need to take the emotion out of it and make well-informed decisions on Tuesday, April 7th, to give this school, and our community, a chance over the next several years.
Think first, then vote...for both the school board and the city council. Green Lake needs some people who will make a change and we need them as soon as possible. Let's get things moving in a different direction...a more positive one.
Exactly correct last blogger. What is happening at our school with regard to cutbacks is not exclusive. It is happening everywhere. And yes, it would be the same regardless of the administration.
However, because the administration has been negligent on so many levels with regard to ill advised spending on things unrelated to education, it is relevant.
We need to take the emotion out of it and make well-informed decisions on Tuesday, April 7th, to give this school, and our community, a chance over the next several years.
Think first, then vote...for both the school board and the city council. Green Lake needs some people who will make a change and we need them as soon as possible. Let's get things moving in a different direction...a more positive one.
Ooops. Sorry about that double post. Sight showed a server error so I hit send again. Again. Again...
I certainly agree that everyone should vote. And I agree that everyone should make a special effort to become informed before voting.
As a parent, I have found that the best way to learn about how well a school is functioning is to talk to other parents - many other parents - to be sure to get a good cross section of thought. If possible, attend school functions - musical productions, athletic events, competitions (like the one recently won by a group from our area). Attend school board meetings and any other forum in which teachers and administrators are discussing activities at the school. Evaluate published information about offerings, academics and awards for the students and for the teachers.
All of these are first-hand ways to get some clearer ideas about what is happening at a school.
As a voter, I want to form my own opinion based on my own observations - not make decisions based on anonymous angry postings on a blog.
I can't believe board member Harley Reabe actually believes the school and community would somehow be better off "not" accepting the Sunnyside property if "most or all" of the cost to purchase was funded through state and federal grants. His argument is that the city would lose the tax revenue that is currently being paid on the property. Harley get your head out of your behind! What a fantastic opportunity for our school and community to utilize a unspoiled tract of land within a few miles of school. This is the type of investment that will attract people to our area. I agree with practicing fiscal responsiblity, however we still need to take advantage of oppurtunties as they arise. The specific examples of spending complaints I've seen on this site are miniscule when compared to the annual budget. The board and administration aren't always going to make the right decisions, however in fairness to them, we need to allow them to make routine decisions without constanting trying to micro-manage their each and every move.
Heck yes. No need to micromanage any of their moves. No need to question any of their motives.
But wait, aren't those the same arguments that were put out by all the bleeding heart liberals in Washington with regard to the banks, Fannie and Freddie, the automakers, and all the rest. Sound pretty similar to me.
No, we should probably just let them spend it first and then justify it second. Then, if they can't justify it, we'll let them throw more money at it because we all know that more money fixes problems.
Sorry, but you are absolutely wrong on these things being minuscule in the grand scheme of thing and I'm pretty sure there are plenty of taxpayers around here that would agree with me on this.
To start, if $15,000 (plus) spent on legal fee's for the Lindenwood BS and $15,000 spent on the Discover Wisconsin commercial (please Wisconsin, DON'T discover what the real GL is like!!) isn't a good starting point, look at the rest of the fiscal irresponsibility that has occurred.
Harley, and the rest of the board members who are seeking financial accounting of school spending are absolutely, positively, 100% correct in questioning every penny that is spent. I don't know about you but the rest of the world is suffering a bit of an economic downturn...you must be one of those 1/10 of 1% for whom money is no object.
Also, with regard to the, "not" accepting the Sunnyside land when "most or all" of the money would be provided through grants": You must not have the information the rest of us were provided. 'Accepting' would imply that the land is being 'given' and this land is certainly not a gift (you must be thinking of the Lindenwood land that was to be 'given' but it wasn't good enough to be accepted freely). And even the Great Illusionist, Ken Bates, has stated many times that there are no guarantees with regard to grant money. We keep hearing that "it's available" but that doesn't mean diddly without any evidence to back it up. If you had read the most recent articles in the local papers (Ripon and GL) this is pretty clearly stated. And please tell the rest of us uninformed city dwellers how owning another piece of land will "attract people to our area"? Who will these people be...the carpetbaggers and snake-oil salespeople that see what an easy mark the yokels in this area are. I have yet to find a correlation between how the school owning more land will bring people to the area? This is not land that is adjacent to the present school location thus lending itself to future expansion (which obviously won't happen anyway). So, will just telling people that the school 'owns land' make them want to come? I don't see any possible connection. Please enlighten me.
Please Harley...sharpen that pencil and get out the ledger sheets because we have a right to know just how that obscene annual budget is being doled out and that each and every cent is being responsibly spent on the education of our children.
Buying 30+ acres of school land in Sunnyside is downright nutty. Shame on Ken and Wendy for excitedly announcing this fantasy in November and then refusing to let the School Board make a decision, even four months later. Shame on the blogger who criticized Harley Reabe’s rejection of the idea. Guess what, folks? Harley has long been a critic of the Sunnyside nonsense, and he beat the hell out of everyone in the primary. That should tell you something. It’s high time Ken, Wendy and others wake up and realize that Harley speaks for the majority, not the minority. Look at the votes.
The school’s incompetence with regard to land acquisition was revealed in the Lindenwood/ABA fiasco. Do we really want to go down that road again just to show off to other schools? How much in legal fees will THIS hair-brained idea cost us? Enough!
I agree completely. The delusion of the school owning land has to stop. I am still upset about the fact that the ABA gave away the land to the school, all it means is less taxes for the ABA to pay. The school has access to all of the conservancy and public lands, they do NOT need to own land that should be contributing to our taxes.
There was a little blurb in the paper last week (must have been the Ripon Commonwealth) about the school now hiring a firm to go and check out the newly acquired ABA land for "safety" hazards. Did any of you see this article? So now Ken Bates is spending more money on this stupid free land? Did the school need to have the land investigated for safety concerns in order to satisfy an insurance company? Is the school going to insure this "free" land? How much is this going to cost us every year?
The School Board is waiting until after the election to decide publicly whether to pursue grant money for the Sunnyside purchase. After all, there’s no sense in being open with the voters about what the school’s direction is. Instead, let’s hide our plans until after the election.
Face it, no matter what the School Board does here, the district leadership will end up with egg on its face. If the Board decides to keep pursuing the Sunnyside idea, the taxpayers will ultimately vote it down, whether grant money covers it or not. That’s because residents have had quite enough of the school owning “environmental land” and removing it from the local tax roll.
But while that scenario would definitely embarrass the school, the Administration would be equally embarrassed to have to drop the idea on its own. Remember certain school officials wetting their pants with excitement when this idea was announced four months ago? Imagine those same people having to say, “We don’t want Sunnyside after all, because we’ve realized it’s a foolish idea that most citizens don’t support.”
Get the popcorn.
Perhaps the school should also drop the notion of "school breakfast" before they waste too much time or money. Their ridiculous plan was to have the kids grab their breakfast between classes and eat it in the classroom during class! I was at the school board meeting when this was discussed, and the matter of staffing (extra money!) was also discussed for this program.
It is the parents job to feed their children breakfast! If kids aren't hungry in the morning before school, then they learn to wait for lunch. Parents can stick a snack in their child's backpack if they have trouble waiting for meals. Traditionally the breakfast program is offered to low-income students who qualify, and our district does not have enough low-income students to bother with such a program. Besides, I am still upset that the school (in all their wisdom) offers chocolate milk that contains high fructose corn syrup. Most granola bars also contain high fructose corn syrup, as does yogurt with fruit. Since these are the types of food that would be offered to the students, I am very much against this entire plan. High fructose corn syrup is the leading cause of childhood obesity, which also leads to juvenile diabetes. Let the kids eat at home like they are supposed to.
The UN Security Council has adjourned closed-door talks on North Korea's long-range rocket launch with no agreement on how to respond to what Western members called a clear violation of UN resolutions. What does this have to do with Green Lake Schools? Plenty in my opinion. There are several growing efforts to get the USA out of the United Nations. The UN does not represent American beliefs, in fact stands directly against America on many core issues.
The International Baccalaureate "programme" has been implemented at Green Lake Scbools under the administration of Ken Bates. IBO has agreed to promote the United Nations along with the actions and treaties of the United Nations.
There has been national news coverage of late regarding the growing movement to get the USA out of the UN. The sooner this happens, the better. I cannot see any reason to continue the IB programme here in Green Lake. It should never have been allowed in our school to begin with. Please get out and vote on Tuesday.
Since we are voting tomorrow, and the school board is one of the areas we will be deciding, is it too late to put a sign up sheet at the town hall so people can let the board know if the majority of voters want the school board to pursue the issue of the Sunnyside land? It would not be a formal vote, but it would give the voters a change to voice their opinion on the issue before any more money is spent. Lets remember "Nothing is free", this will cost the taxpayers money somewhere down the road, there will be cost involved.
I would like to know where the money comes from for "grants" and with the state budgets in trouble, can we count on grant money in the future?
No worry about money...I believe the schools Economic Stimulus check is in the mail!
Get out and vote and let's hope we can start moving forward in a positive direction.
Could not find a suitable section so I written here, how to become a moderator for your forum, that need for this?
Could not find a suitable section so I written here, how to become a moderator for your forum, that need for this?
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