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Saturday, November 22, 2008
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18 comments:
Great question!
Is Lindenwood legally required to GIVE the school district the property they want?
I was at the school board meeting, and I also read the article regarding this land purchase in both the GL and Ripon newspapers. It is my understanding that Ken Bates wants the school to buy the land and then hope that donations will come in to cover the purchase cost. He also stated that payments (if necessary) could be stretched out over 20 years or more. Of course, that means borrowing money. In this economy, that is just too risky a venture to move forward with. All so that the school will have it's own forest for teaching and recreational purposes. The conservancy hopes to buy the adjacent land. My question is why the conservancy doesn't buy the the land and allow the school to use it? After all, their main concern is protecting and persevering the area's natural resources. If the school purchases the 38 acres and then goes into a closure/bankruptcy situation, (which is it working on most adamantly with their out-of-control spending) then they would be forced to sell the land to the highest bidder, which would probably be a developer. This entire matter is ridiculous to even consider, especially since the school is receiving land from the ABA for their school/teaching purposes. The ABA land is more than enough to meet their purposes.
It seems that Ken Bates has his own plans for Green Lake County, not just the school. I personally believe that he is suffering from delusions of grandeur. He has propelled his way into every organization in the area in order to achieve his unrealistic goals, including the Rotary, the Chamber, the Library Board, the Conservancy, the Green Lake County/Ripon Community Foundation, the Bike Trail Committee, The Wisconsin Alliance to Protect the Public Good, and he heads up the Cornerstone Wellness Center project. In the meantime, the test results at the school clearly indicate that his job performance as school administrator is sorely lacking. And this at a school that has one of the highest per public student funding in the entire state. What is wrong with this picture?
The Urban Dictionary defines "Little Man Syndrome" as: A man, small in stature, who attempts to overcome the way he believes other people perceive him (as a diminutive character) by 1) attaching himself to authority figures, 2) trying to manipulate himself into positions of control, 3) migrating toward positions of leadership, and 4) having a fairly volatile temper.
I don't know if Ken Bates has a volatile temper, but he sure fits the definition to a T. Maybe he should just concentrate on running a school where students learn and succeed, and work within the annual school budget. The school has turned into a literal three ring circus, with a charter school, the IB school that nobody wants but the administration, now a Vocational/Tech school too. Whatever happened to a regular, old-fashioned school where teachers teach and students learn???
If Ken Bates wants to take over and run the entire county then he should step down from his job as school administrator and pursue his other interests. As it is, he is doing a bang-up job of running our school into the ground. Maybe then he can build a bike path on top of it. Go Ken.
Although what I am about to say is not a new idea, maybe it is one that should be stated again. I will preface my statement by acknowledging the fact that I know there will be some tried and true long time Green Lake residents who will find emotional fault with my statement, but my hope would be that it would only be that.
In the business world today, mergers and acquisitions have become a mainstay as a means to allow businesses who otherwise may no longer exist, to continue, albeit under a different "name".
Many children from the Green Lake area now choose to attend school in Ripon as a "opportunity" to be involved in additional school activities, additional areas of study, and maybe a broader level of student perspective.
The High School in Ripon is 40+ years old and I am guessing is outdated in many respects( HVAC, plumbing, audio/video, etc.) I am guessing the the Green Lake school is as old or older.
Understanding that a Heritage of Green Lake schooling would be lost in such a merger would be painful to many. But what remains after those discussions are over is the financial realities that will continue going forward. What if a new regional school was built combining the efforts of Ripon and Green Lake. Think of the possibilities that could be achieved for the children. Granted, there would be some logistics to overcome, but in a rural area such as we live in, I don't think that is something that many parents have not been dealing with already for decades now.
The truth is, if school districts( actually, any government agency) were run as if they were a for-profit agency, this probably would of happened a long time ago.
And if Ripon seems to be an issue for some reason, then what about Princeton. If/when the ABA and the Green Lake school district come to terms on the land to be donated, then why not build a regional school for the two towns there ?
I can understand the hesitation from those educators who work within each school district, as a new "Hybrid" school could not nor need to absorb all the personnel from both districts. There would be educators who would be displaced and I can sympathize with their plight. That being said, it would be no different than what we are seeing taking place everyday on the news. Companies are "doing what is necessary" to survive in a very cruel business world of late.
I do understand the desire for autonomy between towns, but maybe this might be a way of not only being fiscally responsible, but actually drawing neighboring towns closer together.
I would certainly think, that with the combined tax base of adjoining towns, we could build an awfully nice school system for our children, and isn't that what it really is about.
I have read some of the comments about the recent Presidential election and know that some of you out there are very upset at the outcome. Every one is entitled to their opinion and to their right to vote. Many have said that the country was somehow "tricked or persuaded" into voting for Obama. I think the American public is smarter than many of us give it credit for.
Obama won, because America finally had had enough. They were no longer willing to settle for more of the same. They bought into Obama because they hoped he would deliver on his core message, "Change".
Maybe, the same is true for the educational offering to the children of Green Lake. Maybe, just maybe, we can, by changing, give the children more than we have in the past. If the end result thru change becomes children who are smarter, more versed in music, the arts, sports, and better prepared for higher education, than wouldn't it all be worth letting go of the past to allow room for the future.
I certainly don't profess to know all the inner workings of a school district, but that being said, from a perspective of simplicity it would appear it might merit a investigation into the possibilities of such a merger.
As I mentioned previously, everyone is entitled to their opinion and their right to vote. This is and would be mine, given the choice.
Finally, if the Green Lake school district is going to get approximately 10 acres in the ABA, why would it need to invest in another 38? If anything, let the conservancy buy it, and donate a portion of it to the school district, although again, why would they need it if they are going to get 10 acres in the ABA.
I would encourage everyone to read the Ripon newspaper on this issue. The article was much more in-depth with many more details that were left out in the Green Lake's version. If you really want the full story, you’re not going to see it in the Green Lake paper. People need to know the full story, so READ.
I understand the school already uses the Conservancy land, 20.5 acres on the shores of Norwegian Bay. The Conservancy is about to get another 24+ acres nearby that land on the west end of the ABA. A good bit of that area is forested. From what the paper said, this land will be open for school and public use. Then the school plans to get another 6-10 acres of forested and lakefront land from Lindenwood. We're already up to about 50+ acres available to us. There are 20 kids in the charter program, so we have 2.5 acres per student... how much more do they need? Even if its open to the entire school, what have they got 1/4 - 1/2 acre per student? That's a lot of land.
I'm just a simple guy, but even if some of the funding comes from grants, it seems a bit ridiculous to plunge into any debt for more of what we already have available at no cost to us.
Yes, I agree. This is why we all have to go to the meeting on December 3rd. I am not yet sure of where the meeting will be held or at what time. However, I have heard that the public gets to vote on this matter. It is very important that people attend this meeting and do their part to stop the unnecessary purchase of this land. I am sure the details of the meeting will be in this weeks newspaper.
The charter school has plenty of access of land for teaching purposes. Also consider that the city is tearing down the old city garage/maintenance building by the tennis courts in the spring. The money coming from FEMA is contingent upon the fact that the land by the tennis courts be turned into parkland. This entire area around the ballpark will need to be landscaped, planted and tended. This is a perfect opportunity for the charter school to show their green stuff and do their part to naturalize and beautify our downtown. I am sure that the city would comply, after all it would save them the manpower who would otherwise have to do this. Not only will this save money for the city but will be a valuable and meaningful experience for the students involved. The school does not need to buy more land in order to teach. One of the above bloggers was correct in stating that the school should be run like a business. Our school has no business buying land that it cannot afford. There are no guarantees that any more donations would become available. We are entering into a depression.
What about the headlines in the GL Reporter: School considers Sunnyside land purchase?(11/20/08)
Yes, that is what we are talking about here. Not only is the school considering the Sunnyside land, it seems to think it is going to purchase this land. That is why we need as many people as possible to attend the meeting on Dec. 3. The school should get on the task of teaching and quit all of their ridiculous spending.
Kudos to you, big green machine - you nailed it exactly!
This situation is similar to what took place in Washington last week with the auto makers. They're coming asking for money and they have yet to share the entire plan with us.
Bates, Schultz... what's the plan, what are we doing? Are we just learning as we go, spending money for what? Is there a "business" plan for the charter and regular school?
I sure would like to see a five year projection that shows how this all comes together. Is the final charter school deal even approved by the state yet?
I don’t know I would kinda like to see the pictures of Wendy’s class reunion again. Talk about a waste of time, what a joke. Ken! lets see the credit card statement Harley asked about. Just like the current banking and Government Issue, lets us see how our tax dollars are spent, a little transparency would be nice. As for the people just now seeing how Bates & crew operate, I hope it’s not too late. Oh how we “Uneducated”, “afraid of change”, “living in the past”, and all the other names we were called, looks like some of us saw the writing on the wall a few years ago, just check the blog from back then.
Green Lake’s School Board meetings are poorly run and woefully inefficient. Off-topic tangents abound, with no direction or organization to the discussion. It’s as if these clowns are being paid by the hour. I would encourage more people to show up so they can see firsthand how much time is wasted and how little is accomplished.
dear green machine , please don't include the bike path in your negative comments about the school administration. we ,at the park and recreation board advisory committee have put a lot of time and effort into the biking initiative for our city. it's a win - win for all .
I agree. The bike path is a great thing for Green Lake.
I agree, too. I didn't mean to insinuate that the bike trail is a negative for the community. The bike trail is a great thing, truly. Many thanks for all the hard work and effort that has been put forth to see this project actualized. Keep up the good work!
Lindenwood is not "required" to give away land, and the school should be thankful for whatever they get. The school board (Bates & Schultz) are trying to hijack to developer with the urging of some residents to get prime lakefront property. If they mess around too long, they will lose any land they stand to get. Mr. Bates should concentrate on raising the test scores of students, not on boards and committees. We spend almost $16,000 per student and our test scores are in the middle compared to the rest of the state. How about the three "R"s. Reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic? do a good job with those and people will be beating a path to your door. Charter school won't get it done, nor will IB.
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