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- Chief Highknocker
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80 comments:
Interesting difference between Harley's 277 votes and Celest's 134. Maybe it's time for the School Board and Administration to stop living in denial about this so-called "small handful" of people who are unhappy with the school's priorities. Anyone who follows the school news knows Harley and Celest have different views on certain matters of interest.
Who's the fourth?
Celest was fourth. For those of you already counting her out remember what Chris Berman from ESPN Sport Center always says it's not over until it's over - "that's why they play the game" or in this case "thats why they hold the election."
Yogi Berra first said that and before that it was Abe Lincoln's brother Dwayne Lincoln
I'm sure the administration would love to save face by having Celest get re-elected, but face it, the odds are stacked against her. She barely stayed alive in the primary. With nine more votes, Julie Gneiser would have ousted Celest. Meanwhile, the other incumbent running (Harley Reabe) received more than double what Celest had.
No, it's not officially over, but it sure doesn't look good for Celest King or the current administration. The people are speaking loud and clear with their ballots.
People are talking like idiots on all sides of the issue, because they don't want to understand there is no easy, if any fix at all. Harley and whoever else can get elected and/or stay on the board, but what are they going to do to turn this mess around? Harley and crew will fire some staff and cut, cut and cut some more. They’ll stand up to Bates and tell him they don't like what he's doing. Oh great, that will just make it all better. Let’s run another administrator out of Green Lake with whom some (the loudest ones) disagree with. You’ve all done it before and it’s worked so well for us? Why in other school districts do administrators go on to bigger and better districts, in Green Lake they just get fired, or the good/smart ones leave on their own.
Bates is trying to build programs to revitalize the school and all some people want to do is shout him down. You're like those talking heads in the media, when you don't like what someone says or does you just shout them down or out talk them. The fact is, you really don't have any answers yourselves, let alone want to try and understand or come to grips with the problems at hand.
GLSD is in a hell of a mess, dwindling cash, declining enrollments, serious infrastructure needs, programs cut to the bone, looming financial cuts again, a tax base that isn’t referendum ready/willing, some good program ideas trying to be implemented that were started about 5 years to late. People on both sides of the issues better try to learn to work together or both sides will fail alone. Your other option is to realize you are electing a board for the interim and they will decide how consolidation and or closure of the school as we know it will take place. Then you’ll all stand there and wonder what the hell happened.
You may think that people are talking like idiots, I guess you should know. The fact is that there are good administrators out there but GLSD hasn't had the intelligence to hire one of them. They obviously don't do enough research when looking at their options and find a qualified, responsible administrator for our community. Gee, why was Bates let go from his last job? Why was Tracy let go from his last job? Why doesn't our school board have better leadership?
You said it, GLSD is in a hell of a mess and we have the current administration to thank for it. Pull your head out of your @ss.
The right administration and the right school board members are going to make all the difference for Green Lake schools. The current situation OBVIOUSLY is not working.
A previous blogger said "Bates is trying to build programs to revitalize the school."
Oh give me a break. The reason the school needs revitalizing is because of Bates. Isn't he the one who cut teachers and then gave administration substantial pay raises? Isn't he the one who allowed Tracy to bully the students, teachers and staff with no repercussions? Isn't he the one who slashed the Tech-Ed program to the bare bones, liquidating valuable equipment and staff in the process and NOW he wants a brand new Tech-Ed program? He's turned the school into a three ring circus of charter school, IB school, technical academy, earth partnership school, and enrollment continues to decline because of this schizophrenic approach to administration. It's ridiculous.
The only hope for our schools are having school board members who know what the hell they are doing and (finally) having an administration that is focused, responsible and capable. I look forward to that day.
This isn't about electing Board members who will run out the current administration. This is about electing a Board that actually represents what the people want, instead of pissing away time and money on, say, real estate.
No, say what you want, but your words and actions speak loud and clear; this election is all about getting a board that will get rid of Bates and Tracy. You'll bring in another administrator, and in a few years, if we still have a school. you'll be running them out as well.
Our problems here run far deeper than what any administrator could fix in a time line that would make you all happy.
I don't believe that. There are many successful school districts and we can be one of them.
Just for the record- Ken was not "let go" from his previous position. He was recruited by Green Lake and chose to take the job. We have been a part of the Green Lake area for a very long time and care very much about the school system. I notice so many of you post anonymously- why? You complain so much yet are not willing to name yourself or be part of a solution. Just electing someone isn't enough. You have to get in there and help figure out what will work best, have discussions, respectfully disagree but work things out. There - there is not enough of this- there is too much blaming, complaining and bickering. If you have a problem go to the source and TALK.
Program cuts. Yes some good ones are gone now because of this administration. Oh, but look...GL is paying THREE administrative salaries! Try to find any school in the state that compares---I dare you.
The administrators have gone on to bigger and better districts? Who and where? Why didn't Bates go to a bigger and better district??
Three administrative salaries is two too many for a school our size. What do these people DO all day? I know that one of them runs off to meetings (on school time) concerning a fancy health center that our community cannot afford. He even talks about it at the school board meetings, even though it has NOTHING to do with the school. (At least he's not doing a presentation about his high school reunion or some race that he participated in.) I know that e jon is gone on most every Friday, even though is is being paid to work at the school. Shall I continue?
I thought of a few "new schools" that Green Lake could add to their repertoire, in addition to the charter school, IB school, Tech school, and earth partnership school. Let's see, we could have a beauty school, a French cooking school, a pest-control school, and of course a MacDonald's Hamburger University. That way, every student will have the option to make choices in their education. Maybe we could even get Sally Struthers to be our spokesperson! Any of you parents have some more ideas for more schools to integrate into our crazy, whirlwind school system?
Thanks Kim for your "signed" response. I have to give you a lot of credit for keeping your composure. I know I'm not alone when I say I'm embarrassed by some of the personal attacks leveled by some of our community members. I can only imagine how hurtful this must be for you and Ken. To put into perspective your comments about all the Anonymous posts, including my signature with this post, there are only 6 people who've signed their names out of 369 posts to date (under 2%)!!! In conclusion, I couldn't agree with you more that when people have a problem or difference of opinion they need to "rationally discuss it with the source" and not make anonymous character assassinations about the person they disagree with. I believe everybody has the same goal and we just need to be respectful of others point of view.
Totally agree with Jim Sonntag about the personal attacks. They are out of line. Unfortunately many people take it to a personal level because of the negative impact this administration, as well as the prior administration, has had on both our school and our community as a whole. When you talk about divisive actions causing personal and communal hardships, look no further than our present administration and school board (thankfully, not all of the school board). Too many people seem to be in it for their own personal agenda, not taking into consideration job one: THE STUDENTS. Take care of the basics and the rest will follow suit.
Jim, as a business person I'm sure you'd agree that hiring the best person for the job and then letting them do it is essential to success and growth. In light of the slippery slope this school/community are presently on, the first part of this equation has been sorely missed. Apparently, the best people haven't been hired / elected and we are in full descent down a slippery slope.
Getting back to the initial point of this post, and Jim Sonntag's comments, in order to move forward we need fiscally responsible, "rational" people (like Harley) on the school board. These are the type of "source" whom you CAN go to and have a "rational" discussion about the direction of the school. Has anyone tried to contact the administration to discuss anything lately...hard to pin down with all the irons they have in the fire (as well as paid days off it would seem).
The partisan BS that has mired our school/community in this downward spiral has to come to an abrupt end. Hopefully the infusion of some new blood on the board will provide this relief and get us headed in a positive direction.
Thanks Jim! Green Lake is not unique with this kind of behavior- we have lots of it down here in Columbus, too! It is difficult to discuss issues when there are strong disagreements but I am a firm believer that differences can be worked out- it does take a big effort to stay calm and really listen to other sides but it can be done if the parties really want to try and come together. There will always be those who thrive on negativity, don't really want to try and continue to hide behind anonymous.
Thank the higher powers that be that both my children graduated from Green Lake High! In the last couple of years before graduating I had to warn my child (who was on Student Council) to be ware of what he/she said in front of the administration. If you went against the grain of what they wanted it would be a black mark before your name. And when scholarships were handed out there wouldn't be any with his/her name on it. And that said- I am glad we don't have to deal with all the bs at that school! Plus, when and if you get rid of the present administration put J. Hauer in the bundle,too!
From Feb 24 2:51pm--I can relate. Guidance counselor Hauer is professionally ineffective, manipulative of people and the school system, and just plain dishonest. If she had any shame she would have resigned years ago!
Sadly, JH has only done my student a disservice by all of her "guidance". Not only has she interfered in matters that were none of her business, she was completely off the mark regarding continuing education. We would have been better of without her.
It is obvious that many of you have blinders on. There are some cutting edge initiatives being put in place at our school. The DPI sees this, CESA sees this, Educational consultants see this. The question is why don't you. IB is not some passing educational fad. Charter Schools are not some new fangled form of education.
Everyone has money issues right now. It's called a bad economy for one. We all need to work together. Our district is unique because of the tax base, and because of that we need to find unique solutions to those problems. What we don't need is to attack people who work their butts off for our district and our kids. Believe me they do work hard. I'm on the charter board and I've seen it first hand. You may not like me and what I do, you also might think that the charter school is simply a fluffy new idea about green space. I've heard that one. This is not true. The charter is about educating our kids in the very best way we can with a focus on the environment. It's about rigor and relevance in education and love for our community and the lake environment. The kids who develop that love will come back here and keep this community alive. The administrators are working very hard for your kids (even when they might be out of the building). Not all of the responsibilities of the administrators jobs occur inside the building.
This school doesn't have to die. It doesn't need negativity. It needs positive energy from members of the community who want to keep their town alive and vibrant. Come and volunteer to help instead of bringing everyone down. Call up to school and ask what you can do. Lets work together. Let's build instead of tearing everyone down. I believe we can have the very best school around. If you don't believe that, it's because you don't want it.
Kumbaya, Green Lake, kumbaya ;-)...Why can't we all just get along. Let's plan a gathering in the school gymnasium and have a huge, district wide, group hug.
Group hug- great idea- but only if all the "anonymous-s" show up...with a button on identifying them.
Thank you Linda for signing your name and getting some facts here.
I think there is an AA (Anonymous Anonymous) meeting this week to help people find their identities. I think it is at Spike's (don't forget to bring $1.50).
Remember the first step to becoming un-anonymous is admitting you are someone...just make sure nobody knows about it.
Kim, I think it is great that you were able to imbed the icon with your profile and get some free advertising for your gallery in Columbus...very slick move and shows what can be accomplished when you're not, you know,
anon_ _ _ _ s! Such a bad word.
Why should it matter if we sign our names on this blog site? So that certain people will know who to resent, hate, disagree with and think otherwise bad thoughts about? How counterproductive.
I know who I am and what I believe in. There are times when I read a blog post and wonder, who wrote that? but it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that people are actively participating in this community on various topics and concerns. By sharing thoughts and ideas we all expand our consciousness and examine matters from all angles and perspectives. A true blogger does not feel threatened by disagreements but embraces the good, the bad and the ugly.
Viva la Blog!
If King's general lack of interest as highlighted in the Reporter's interview session a few weeks back is any indication (I think so), she needs to go. Meade seems to have a good handle on trying to understand the major issues; at the very least he appears passionate about this matter. So what about the two new candidates, Meade and Emmett?
It's obvious this community supports Harley Reabe but not Celest King, which ought to worry the current administration. Harley will take the most votes in February, and then Meade and Emmet will square off for the second seat.
I agree. We are going to need to learn more about Emmet and Meade so we can make an informed decision. Will there be a public forum with the candidates or perhaps more newspaper interviews? It would be helpful in making my decision.
If anybody has doubt's about the importance of getting out and voting in the upcoming election, take the time to read last weeks submission by Ken Bate's in the GL Reporter. In "School Talk", Bates shows just how screwed up our school district is. He boldly defends many of the shortcomings of our school by painting them as beneficial, and due to "good planning". Come on Ken, you have the gall to act as though things are all peachy within the school district when there are problems of great magnitude. To defend small class sizes by stating they are supported "in many ways at the state level" and then reference the SAGE schools as supporting evidence is ludicrous.
Fortunately, most people have access to the internet and can go to the Wisconsin Department of Instruction website to verify Ken's reference material (http://dpi.wi.gov/sage).
After looking at the SAGE information you'll have to wonder where the correlation between the two come in when applying it to GLSD. Do we have such a high level of SAGE qualifying students/families that Bates would use it as "supporting" evidence to his claim...I think not. More than likely dwindling enrollment plays a bigger role in the size of GL's classes and you have to look at the reasons behind this decline.
Ken then goes on to justify the position of Curriculum Coordinator/Instructional Coach by saying it has paid for itself each year through grants brought into the district. This too can be verified through the DPI. I like the way Ken uses nebulous phrasing in defending the need for this position. What is an instructional coach? The teachers need coaching? What is the role of the principal; district administrator; etc? Don't teachers get "paid" to teach? This philosophy lends credibility to performance based pay for teachers...if they aren't doing what they're paid to do, HIRE SOMEONE WHO WILL. I can't believe there aren't really good teachers out there who wouldn't choose Green Lake as a place to teach versus Milwaukee, Madison, or other less desirable locales.
I'm sorry, but in a school district the size of Green Lake you can't convince me with "smoke and mirrors" evidence that we need all of the superfluous positions (and salaries $$$). We are a tiny school district yet I'm sure Bates, tracy, Kneser, Hauer are all paid commensurate with those people holding similar positions across the state in much larger school districts. What do these people do all day? I fear the answer to that question is, Not Enough!
It is time to combine roles and responsibilities within the GLSD and eliminate waste. Fiscal responsibility is a tough sell in these times of unsurpassed governmental pork-barreling. However, remember that it is not someone else's money being spent...it is OUR money being spent. Shouldn't it be spent responsibly?
Yes, our tax money should be spent responsibly, and a feasible plan could be followed to achieve this. However, that won't happen with our current administration. We are entering into historically bad economic times and it could be a long time before things get better. Literally everyone has to buckle down and conserve. The top priority of our school board should be to put the quality of our children's education first. This means cutting down on administrative staff, period. Our school is barely large enough to stay as it's own seperate entity and not consolidate with a neighboring school. Having an oversized administration and minuscule class sizes does not help to provide fiscal responsibility. Our per student costs in Green Lake are much too high, especially considering the quality of education our children have been receiving. It's been nothing to brag about.
Everyone is ready for change in Green Lake's school administration. Ken Bates column in this weeks paper looks like a feeble attempt at damage control to me. It's way too late for that.
We could have an excellent school system and live within our budget to accomplish this if we had a competent and focused School Superintendent. The current administration does not have a clue about how to run a school system, not even one as tiny as Green Lake. The current situation is completely unacceptable. We need strong leadership in our schools, someone who can lead the community in unity and not dissension. Let's put our children's education in the top priority slot that it deserves. It's time for change in the Green Lake school system. Princeton now has an administrator/principal and until Green Lake follows suit and starts to behave responsibly, there will be no peace in Green Lake.
I'd like to explore several key areas related to the ongoing school dialogue.
1) Enrollment - Whether we like it or not, the Green Lake area is not attracting a significant number of families with school age children. With real estate prices higher than surrounding cities and a small employment base, this is not likely to change anytime soon. This leaves our best option as the attraction of students from area schools via the open enrollment system. These students bring state dollars with them, which we would not otherwise have access to. In order to do this, we need to offer a difference. That is what is driving such efforts as IB & the global environmental charter school. Of course, access to land dedicated to learning outside of the classroom certainly helps!
2) Budget issues - Obviously our school is not alone in the realization that the state funding formula is broken. Virtually every surrounding district has had to make deep cuts and plan for referendum. There should be no shame in accepting that we are in "the same boat". It is also not a reflection on the quality of management or leadership of the district. The reality is that the state does not offer enough taxing authority to keep up with teacher salaries and maintenance costs, to say nothing of teaching materials.
3) Taxpayer Support - It would be foolish to ignore the need to keep costs under control, but even more so to think that closing or merging our school with another would save money. Look at the records from a few years ago (5?), when Woodland Circle in Sunnyside left the Ripon district and returned to Green Lake for the first time since the 1970's. I am aware of at least one taxpayer who saw a tax bill reduction of over $1,000. Nothing else changed, except the school district mill rate for Green Lake was substituted for the Ripon one.
While it is expensive, on a per student basis, to educate a student in Green Lake, taxpayers don't pay per student. They pay real $$$ based on a mill rate calculation of property value. Let's explore a merger with Ripon using some very rough estimates: Green Lake & Ripon have similar district wide property values of nearly 1billion dollars. Green Lake has a school budget of about $4million, while Ripon's budget may be $12million. Let's assume you could realize some savings in a merger and have a $14million joint budget. It looks to me like the taxpayers representing Green Lake's 50% share of the combined property wealth, would see their share of the joint school budget equal about $7million (vs. the current $4million). (remember these are estimates used for explanation only).
Wow! we could nearly double our school tax bill while not having nearly enough voters to have a say in a combined district. Now that's a great way to save money!!! It looks like keeping our school alive may actually be the low cost solution!!!
Hopefully consideration of these issues and many more will refocus the discussion away from what's wrong to what can we do to pull together to survive and prosper. I would suggest that the programs and leadership are in place to do just that and what's missing is an understanding of the need to change in order to attract students from surrounding schools. Make sure to ask the candidates where they stand on these issues before voting in April.
Not many communities are presented with a scenario where the low cost solution is also the best. Keep our school alive and improve the offerings so we can attract students to fill the seats, thus allowing us the opportunity to add programs in the future, rather than continue to cut them away.
We are blessed with a natural location that no one else can match and we still have "small town charm" as evidenced by a crowded gym on Memorial Day and a parade during Harvest Fest. Let's all start pulling our oars in the same direction. I fear that currently the port side rowers are pulling while those on starboard are pushing and all we are doing is getting dizzy (and fed-up)!
Bravo Bur!!!
I hope others realize the truth in your statements. Consolidating and losing our small school will not only increase taxes for everyone in the Green Lake School District, it will also cause us to have a community with no school.
I live in the city and my taxes went down almost $800 this year! If we had consolidated with another district I would not be realizing this savings in taxes. I would hope that all of the people in Green Lake whose taxes went down remember that when they have to vote on a referendum next year. I will gladly add $200 to my tax bill when I have already saved $800 a year. Ripon, Markesan, and Princeton are all looking at going to referendum for operating costs in the next year. Green Lake is not alone in this matter. However, I have not found any other municipality in the area where the taxpayers have said that their taxes went down. Yes, I realize that this was due to the reassessment, but my assessment went up $40,000 and I still saved money. I know that many of you are in the same situation, you saved money on your last tax bill. If we lose our school and consolidate, we also lose on the tax bill.
Bur also has one other very good point. Green Lake will pick up half of the tax bill but will have a minority in the vote. You will no longer have a majority voice in the education of our students. This school will not be kept open and if the merging school has a larger population vote, they can vote to build a new school in their community. You will pay half of the bill for a new school, no longer in your community.
Kudos to you Bur for bringing out this very important issue.
Bur, what business do you have commenting on school matters? Seems to me you were kicked off the Board in a landslide two years ago. I think you've been out sailing too long. Last year Marc Dosogne was booted and this year will be Celest King’s turn. Let that be a lesson to the rest of the Board and the Administration: Either listen to what we citizens want, or you’ll be gone, plain and simple. Kudos to Harley Reabe’s enormous success in the primary!
Re: enrollment, Bur writes: "Of course, access to land dedicated to learning outside of the classroom certainly helps!"
Bur, you sound just as foolish as Ken, Wendy and Gordy with their pie-in-the-sky fantasies about land ownership. First the school wanted million-dollar Lindenwood land. Then the school flip-flopped and asked for ABA land (Apparently after four months of paying an attorney to fight with Lindenwood, the school realized the Lindenwood property “wasn’t the best fit for students.”) Now the school wants to buy Sunnyside land. How long will this three-ring circus continue?
Our school needs to focus on getting the most bang for our buck and teaching kids to read and write, rather than always trying to grab attention in the newspaper with Ken and Wendy's hair-brained ideas. Here’s a news flash: Most residents don’t support this silly ABA land grab or the Sunnyside purchase. Just ask them.
The Board needs to stop living in denial about what the public does and doesn’t want. Harley Reabe has made it known that he doesn’t support buying Sunnyside land OR extending Ken Bates’ contract. Guess what? Harley cleaned house in the primary election.
Bur, if you think having access to some silly piece of land is going to help enrollment, then it's probably good you were removed from our School Board. We don't need any more arrogant people like you supporting wasteful spending.
I am in total agreement. The school is clueless as to what parents and other community members want from their school. Ken Bates column last week was a classic example of his constant refusal to run the school responsibly and put our children's education FIRST, above protecting his ample "overstaff". Need I remind everyone that our school has a mere 300 students from K-12???
If it wasn't so terribly tragic, I would find it amusing that the education that I received 30+ years ago was far superior to what my children are receiving today here in Green Lake. I attended a school where 30 kids per class was the norm, and where we had no computers or electronic chalkboards.
When my kids were young, they attended a school where small classes were combined, and there was no problem with this. It is fiscally irresponsible to do anything but this. The kids at Green Lake have 9 or 10 kids per classroom and it is time to combine grades and find competent teachers to teach them.
As far as our taxes going down in the city, that is because we were paying too much, and an investigation should be taking place if it isn't already. I have looked at my neighbors tax bills online (county website) and there are many inconsistencies that should be looked into. While I think it is nice that we have a school here in Green Lake, we need to look at the long range outlook and decide if it is wise to keep our school or consolidate. This is a decades old argument. The population simply is not growing here, are we just putting off the inevitable?
A careful reading of my comments will show that I did not advocate spending large sums of money for property purchases. I simply referred to the value of having access to land, and there are many ways to accomplish that.
As for being gone sailing, the last time I went, was last fall with the Charter School kids, who enjoyed what some called "their best day of school ever". This activity is not practical in a "conventional" school schedule, because it cuts into other class periods. Ask Marsha Krahn or Mary Hunter for their opinion, rather than trusting mine.
Finally, as for the election, I don't think a margin of 25 votes counts as a landslide, especially considering the fact that I was unable to respond to the paper's questionaire, due to being out of town on business. Interestingly enough, Aaron Becker had no problem tracking down my cel phone number at other times when he was fishing for information.
Fortunately our country looks favorably upon the expression of one's own views and I appreciate the fact that this blog allows for issues to be explored from various perspectives. Just because one view is different from another doesn't make it wrong.
Bur, I don’t appreciate being dragged into this discussion. You should call me with a personal concern rather than posting my name on the Internet.
Now let’s set the facts straight. Two years ago when you were running for re-election, you didn’t bother to respond to our newspaper’s candidate questionnaire. I even left you two phone messages to remind you as the deadline drew near. Then after you came in last place, we spoke on the phone, and you attempted to shift the blame onto our newspaper for not tracking you down when you were out of town. Apparently, leaving two separate phone messages wasn’t enough.
Bur, for someone who had been on the School Board nine years (three terms), you of all people should have known to expect a candidate questionnaire from the local newspaper, and should have had the foresight to respond on time — before leaving town. We send out these questionnaires every year for city, town and school races. It’s nothing new. Every other candidate managed to respond on time. The fact that you forgot or neglected to respond is not someone else’s fault. Our newspaper did our part by mailing it well in advance and calling you twice to remind you.
Those are the facts. Please, Bur, don’t blame your defeat on a newspaper that gave you the same opportunity as every other candidate. Have you considered that perhaps there’s another reason you came in last place?
Back to the issue at hand; Ultimately it will be significantly less costly for the local taxpayers to keep our school alive in our community and in order to do so, we need to offer programs that will differentiate our school and attract students from surrounding districts, as well as more of the seasonal residents, a few of whom have historically viewed our district as a viable alternative to their big city "home" districts . How to do that is really all matters.
I encourage all voters to question the candidates on their views on how to keep our district viable in the future.
Let me get this straight …. Bur is suggesting he lost because for some reason, he didn’t return the newspaper’s candidate survey?
That’s an interesting way to spin the issue. In fact it’s laughable. After being on the School Board for nearly a decade, one would think an incumbent like Bur could have run and won on his record alone. Obviously the voters didn’t agree. Bur came in dead last in 2007. The reasons are obvious to just about everyone but him.
Green Lake voters want a School Board that will listen to what we want, not tell us what we should want. For several years now, the Board has been telling us what we should want. Hence, people like Bur get voted out and publicly shamed. Good riddance. Instead of trying to grab newspaper headlines about how “unique” and “green” we are, maybe this school could learn to hold the line on spending and repair the strained relationship with the community.
For example, we don’t need an administration that feels it’s appropriate to spend tens of thousands of dollars on ABA land and then say, “See, our school needed this to be unique, right?” while local taxpayers shake their heads in disbelief. We don’t need an administration that whines about revenue caps but then suggests we purchase a $230,000 piece of Sunnyside land that’s adjacent to dozens of acres of publicly accessible land. We don’t need an administration that tries to re-write closed session minutes to disguise what happened about a certain administrative contract. We don’t need School Board members who pretend to listen to the public but really don’t adapt to what citizens are saying. We don’t need a School Board that is painfully inefficient during public meetings, going on off-topic tangents and basically using the meeting as a fluffy cheerleading session rather than conducting school business.
Here is the bottom line: the only way to save our school and stay afloat is by using common sense and shrewdness. Administrative staff needs to be cut, small classes need to be combined, and superfluous curriculum needs to be curtailed.
Some say that Green Lake needs to offer special programs to attract students to our school, but the fact is that this frenzy of trying to be multiple schools is like a bad schizophrenic dream sequence. The school is trying to be too many things. This preposterous notion of being 5 schools in one is blowing up in their faces. All that parents really want for their children is a solid practical, QUALITY education.
I do not know Bur Zeratsky, have never met the man. He talks as if he knows everything, throwing out numbers like they are facts. The fact is that if Green Lake consolidates, there are several options, not just Ripon as one example. A study should be conducted on what it would mean to consolidate to various neighboring schools. We have Princeton (which seems a more logical choice that Ripon), Berlin, and Markesan. I am not saying that we necessarily should consolidate, but our options should be examined in foreseeing that event. Perhaps sharing an administrator, and keeping our school is a possibility. I find it ridiculous that Green Lake pays for a full time guidance counselor. I attended a high school of over 1200 students, and there were two guidance counselors, that is one per 600+ students. The main thing that Jan Hauer does is to help kids with their schedules. Anyone could be hired to do this simple function. Her advice and "help" with college matters is negligible. (Jan Hauer has about 100 students to deal with and earns a ridiculous amount of money for what she actually does).
The role of "curriculum director" also needs to be examined and most certainly combined with another position in the school. And of course, the role of principal and administrator must be combined, it only makes sense. Life as we know it in the Green Lake schools is coming to an end. If our current administrator does not want to function as the principal, then we will find someone who does.
Green Lake needs to cut the fat, and big time. Things are going to get much worse for our country financially before they get better, and experts say that our children can expect a lower standard of living than what we have now. (thanks Obama) We need to buckle down and conserve, and yet if we do this right our kids will get a better education for much less money.
Wow, where can us parents and taxpayers sign up for the charter school program that includes sailing as part of the coursework...I too want to experience my best school day ever (we used to refer to those kinds of days as "skip days" for which we got trouble).
With this kind of mentality do we really have to wonder why the GLSD scores in the standardized testing for reading, writing, mathematics, science aren't off the charts. With the minuscule class sizes and what basically amounts to individualized instruction these students should be testing at exceptional levels. Look at the numbers: Grades with as few as 9 students in a classroom; a teacher; a teachers aid, and an "instructional coach" and still the scores are only average at best. I have a real problem with that picture.
Heck yes, let's go sailing and forget about real academia!!! Thankfully all of these kids will be well prepared when the high-paying sailing careers take off.
Bur Z. is one reason we have the mess we do because he was intrumental in bringing his buddy Ken Bates to GL. He is one of those behind the scene still trying to influence the school with his vision of what GL should be. Dream on, Bur.
I can see it now...a remake of Pirates of the Caribbean done right here in GL. Johnny Depp will come (I hear he loves the Heidel House) and Bur can get all the kids involved. WOW - now we can have another high school direction. The Media Arts Academy of the Lake!! Let's hire some additional administrators to get this one off the ground...or should I say, out to sea! Raise the sails, hoist the mizzen mast maties..the HMS e.jon is about to set sail!
Finally, a great idea to attract tourism to Green Lake! Forget about New York and Chicago, we could be the Broadway of the North. Our little school would be like the one in Fame, talented children singing and dancing their way to riches and stardom. Forget about academics, let's put on a show! I am going to write a screenplay about the flubbed land grab at the ABA, and another about the Exodus of Mirr. And don't forget the remake of Psycho with the Bates Motel. At long last, a vibrant idea to attract students to our dying school. Just don't let e jon star in the GL version of Equus.
The people who run the Green Lake school are never content unless their ideas, programs and even controversy are splashed about in the newspaper. They feed on the media attention, whether it’s positive or negative. It reminds me of Jesse Jackson, never happy unless reporters are following him around.
“Look at us! We have a Charter School!”
Yeah, so do lots of schools. Get over yourselves.
“Look at us! We have an IB program!”
So what? Did local residents actually want it, or is this one of those things the Administration pushed through without the community’s informed support?
“Look at us! We have land!”
Yeah, and nobody supported it except a few School Board members and the Administration because we can’t afford the enormous expense.
“Look at us! We’re environmentally green!”
And it’s getting tiring. There are other important subjects to learn rather that harping about the spotted owl and taking algae samples. Let’s learn to read and write, shall we?
“Look at us! We need a referendum! Now we don’t! Now we might! Now we need one again! Now we don’t! Now we do! Now we can’t decide!”
Has the School Board ever stopped to ask citizens what THEY want regarding a possible referendum?
“Look as us! We’re small and that’s a benefit!”
Great. Now maybe you could trim some Administrative overhead if you’re so damn small.
Love it! You forgot a few:
"Look at us! We're cutting back on teaching staff and giving ourselves hefty pay raises!"
"Look at us! We cut the tech-ed programs and sold the equipment, and now we want to bring it back!"
"Look at us! We can't operate within the ample budget, so let's borrow money from next years budget!"
This could go on and on...oh yeah it has been going on and on for years now. Unbelievable. Thank you SO MUCH you school board members who have renewed this man's contract, even in the aftermath of yet another administrative snafu.
Bur, I could'nt agree with you more. Thank you for a civil and intelligent perspective. I think it's a shame to see how people who don't have a clue what's going on can only respond by making anonymous personal attacks on others. I for one appreciate your previous service to both our school and community.
I don't. What exactly did Bur accomplish in his nine years on the School Board? Maybe if people saw some value in his service, he wouldn't have been kicked off.
Exactly what did Bur, or for that matter, any other school board members do to cause you such resentment? Most of the complaints against the board or the administration that I've read on this blog have dealt with menial issues. For example, the legal expeditures paid by the school during their negotiations with Lindenwood. Based on the history Lindenwood had, with it's prior dealings with both the city and township, the school would have been negligent if they didn't have legal consul during their meetings. The amount spent was a bargain for what they got in return. Also who cares if the property they ultimately attained was part of the Lindenwood project or not? The property turned out to be better than any that would have been negotiated through Lindenwood, so everyones a winner. Even with such a positive outcome the people against the board and administration found reason to complain. This is just one of many examples I could give to show how unfairly both the board and administration have been treated by some in our community. As Bur so eloquently stated it's time for us all to oar the same direction before we end up totally losing our school.
You have got to be kidding.
You're right. I was kidding.
Sincerely,
Anonymous
No I'm not kidding!
But intelligent comeback. It's obvious some people are filled with so much resentment and hatred that they can't treat others with different opinions with civility or even look at things rationally.
Menial issues!!! What hole have you had your head buried in? I guess the direction of the school; the education of the students; the misuse of taxpayer dollars; etc, must be menial issues.
Let's talk about the specific citing of the 'legal expenditures' resulting from the 'negotiations' with Lindenwood. In response to this being a menial issue I have two points to make:
1)why were there 'negotiations' to begin with? The land was to be a gift to the school, not a negotiated item with a potential value in excess of $1.5 million dollars. If you saw the response to the schools actions from the planning & zoning meeting you'll realize this was not their intention when they made the gift a requirement of Lindenwood proceeding with the development.
2)If the money spent on legal fees for this fiasco was so 'menial' why are there many people in this area who work part time jobs (several jobs sometimes)paying them alot less than what was wasted by the administration / school board. Not everyone around Green Lake has a money tree growing in the yard. I think you owe an apology to those people who work in the service industries (can you say tourism in GL) and other 'menial' jobs around this area who would NOT find that the legal expenses were just menial.
To many people, the actions of the administration and school board can not be trivialized but this seems to be the common theme when attempting to defend their courses of action.
One can't argue the point that this community would ultimately benefit from everyone "oaring" (rowing?) in the same direction...Unfortunately, all of us aren't even on the same body of water!
Ken/Wendy wrote:
“Based on the history Lindenwood had, with its prior dealings with both the city and township, the school would have been negligent if they didn't have legal counsel during their meetings. The amount spent was a bargain for what they got in return. Also who cares if the property they ultimately attained was part of the Lindenwood project or not? The property turned out to be better than any that would have been negotiated through Lindenwood, so everyone’s a winner.”
1. You’re still not listening. You can spin this as a “bargain” until the cows come home. The fact is, local residents didn’t want the school to spend money on land, period. You never asked for our permission or blessing because you knew what the answer would be. It’s absolutely asinine to cut teachers and programs and then waste tens of thousands of dollars on land that you could have had for free.
2. No, everyone’s not a winner. The school lost an enormous amount of community respect based on how poorly this was handled. Greedy land demands, enormous legal fees, months and months of “negotiations,” etc. Great educational priorities. Ripon and Princeton residents must laugh at how dysfunctional the Green Lake school is week after week.
3. The school claims the ABA land “turned out to be better” than the Lindenwood land. Why did it take the school eight months to realize this? That’s right, eight months. The school originally requested Lindenwood land in June. For several months, the school chirped about the million-dollar “Woodland Court,” saying THAT was the best piece of land. Then the school “reached a deal” with the ABA for an entirely different piece of land in February. Funny how the school didn’t agree to an alternative deal until after the public became infuriated.
How much money did the school spend anyway? I’ve read it’s far more than $11,500 because more bills were still coming. Perhaps the school could enlighten us about this “bargain.”
Yes, Ken and Wendy, what was the final tally? Don't pretend you're not reading this.
"Even with such a positive outcome the people against the board and administration found reason to complain."
Most people do not consider the gift of land from the ABA a positive outcome. For one thing, the school no longer receives tax money from that land and WE the taxpayers will get to make up the difference. The students did not need this land, as there is plenty of public lands available within minutes of the school for nature studies. This was never about the students, it was about greed and trying to make the school seem more desirable (what a joke). If the school wasn't being run so poorly we wouldn't need to try to attract students to coming here.
The $12,000 + legal fees should be paid back to the school, it was supposed to be money used to educate our children. What took place borders on criminal behavior, spending taxpayer money on a land negotiation that had 0% chance of happening. You may as well have flushed the money down the toilet.
And when placing blame on the school board, please keep in mind that 3 of those people should not be clumped in with the others. It's very insulting.
In coming to Green Lake, we were welcomed warmly, and came away with the impression that although small, the school district worked well together (administration/staff/students/community). I had the impression that there was a unified goal to help each student succeed, which was supported by the 'data' in the school brochure. However this election turns out, I hope that the goal of helping each student succeed becomes the focus once again.
The initiatives that the school district has embarked upon may have a positive return in the long-run, but as the community comes to terms with how each of the new options may benefit (or hinder) their child's education - which includes a sense of security that their school will exist (as they know it) until they graduate- extra care should be taken to 'walk us through' each step that is taken, so there is a clear understanding of what the outcome will be. When a project is well-thought out and clearly articulated(meaning that the goals and steps to achieve the goals are clear, as well as realistic accounting of what will change), the outcomes are more likely to be positive.
For goodness sake lets quit trying to micro-manage the school. Let our elected officials do their jobs without the constant interruption from a few hot heads. If you think you can do things better then run for the school board next time it comes up or vote for someone eles in the upcomming election. In the iterium, quit trying to sabatoge everything that the current administration is doing - it's extremely selfish and only hurting our kids and community.
My sentiments exactly!
Nicely said. It's clear that for some people in our community it isn't about doing what's truely in the best interest of our school or city. No amount of reasoning will ever change these peoples minds, they simply are too biased to make rational decisions.
Sadly, it is the elected officials (AKA school board) who are not representing the wishes of the people who voted for them. And the last three blogs are ass-backwards, it is the administration who is sabotaging the school and not putting the education of the children first, and certainly not acting in the best interests of the taxpayers, either. At least we have a chance for some positive change with the next election. These past few years have been horrible for our school(s) and the only one(s) to blame is the administration (and 2/3 of the school board). Rational decisions are exactly what need to start happening at the Green Lake schools.
It's time for the Green Lake school administration to stop pretending that only “a few hot heads” are upset with the administration’s current priorities. In reality, this election carries an enormous undertone.
Everyone already knows this, but it's worth repeating that Celest King voted to renew Ken Bates' contract while Harley Reabe voted in opposition recently. Funny then how Celest got her rear end spanked while Harley easily took first place in the primary.
Thats why we hold elections. However until there is a change let the current elected officials do their jobs without the constant badgering. That is what democracy is a about.
Why was the vote to end/extend the Bates contract held before the elections were completed?
I have no idea why they voted at this time. If you have a question about something rather than complain about it or fabricate "BS", as is commonly done on this site, why don't you attend a school board meeting and find out directly from the horses mouth. If you fear retribution from the "evil" board members or administration why not call one of the "good" board members anonymously on the privacy of your phone and find out.
PS...Just a thought you might want to use a pay phone because they may have caller ID.
It was a simple question.
It was a simple answer.
it was not an answer to the question
It’s not BS to say Bates’ contract was recently extended. It's a fact. Read the minutes from January 28th. Even though someone tried to re-write the closed session minutes to hide what happened, the Board was forced to correct the error and reveal the truth.
Why are there closed sessions at all? Is this normal for school boards?
The Green Lake School Board is notorious for hiding in closed session. Why was it necessary to approve Ken Bates' contract extension in secret? The public has a right to know who voted which way and why.
Amen. Ken's performance review is OK for closed session, but the decision to extend his contract is fair fodder for the public at an open meeting.
The "BS" isn't about whether Ken Bates contract was renewed or not, that's public knowledge. The "BS" I'm referring to has to do with people writing false or half truth information to gain political advantage. The primary reason this occurs is that no one is held accountable for their anonymous posts. If signatures were required some of the bloggers on this site would be sued for libel.
Well then, please point out these specific half-truths and back up the correct information with sources. Don't just preach about how ignorant us non-School Board members are. Tell us exactly where our posts are incorrect.
I agree with the last poster. I've been at school board meetings and have seen the way agenda's are manipulated to not allow people to participate in the "open forum". If things are so distorted in these blogs then would those of you 'in the know' please start giving us some facts.
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