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Comments (18)
Add commentReality check
I believe in an education for all but not in this district. When they stop shuffling kids without enough credits to AEC then give them quicky classes so they graduate, maybe. Or the troubled kids who just need extra time spent on them to correct behaviors brought on by mental health issues- instead of using a 5 by 6 concrete lock down room, maybe. They scream more parent involvement but when they get it we are told they know our kids better then we do, not hardly~! Every year I have to spend more and more on things the teachers want our kids to have in the class room another way to get money the school should have budgeted for right just another hiden fee as far as I am concerned. And if we have to answer to them for our kids which I believe we should- they need to answer to us for their bad choices. In a few years they will ask us to support a new elementary school because "we Need it" I say they need to get their act together first and prove to us -the people who support them- that they can truely put our kids first ALL OUR KIDS! Not just the easy to handle smart kids. I personally feel bad for the teachers-many are very hard working, devoted people- to bad they have to work for a school district as messed up as this one.
Oh and by the way I have always supported increases in the past and I would be willing to stay at the level we are at now but no way will I vote for anything more till there are some real common sense - reality based changes in the way our district does business.
Looks Good for the District
of 100 people 72% support keeping the current levy in place or higher. Granted this is by no means an accurate poll, but it seems that most of the comments on this website are from right wing radicals I'd say 72% is pretty solid! Good luck district!
property taxes
Sorry but everyone's property taxes did not go down.
Ours went up (17%) and we didn't change anything.
Tried to call it to their attention, but they have spoken.
With a levy property taxes will not go down. Nothing is automatic
in the property tax department.
Education, I believe, already takes up about 50% of the state budget.
Look it up, I may be off some. How much is enough?
How about looking for something else besides throwing more money in the hopper?
There is no more money.
more money doesn't equal better education
Explain why Asian countries score higher and they have more kids in the classroom.
The parents make sure the kids are school ready , do homework and extra. They have
school like every other Saturday.
It seems like the first thing is always to say "lay off teachers", why don't the teachers take a
cut in pay, pay more for benefits and then no teacher would lose their job.
Remember it is for the children.
People don't like that they put the levy in last time without a vote.
Taxpayers if they still have a job are short on cash .
The teachers union has a way that makes parents and others feel gulty.
What is the amount spent per pupil? Exactly what is the state responsible for?
It says education. What does that mean? When they wrote the constitution, I think
there was only reading, writing and arithmetic. Look it up. The state certainly is not
responsible for all the extras like art, music, athletics, etc. That doesn't mean I don't think
they are valuable it just means there is a question who should pay for it.
It is obvious that the people
It is obvious that the people of the Brainerd District need to support their kids by at least voting to renew the levy that is in place. Hopefully they have the capacity to up that a bit as well. The District is at a very critical juncture and cannot afford another reduction in funding. They have already cut dozens of teachers and support staff and class size is larger than ever. A renewal vote would not increase property taxes. In fact, property taxes continue to go down as we all see each year on our statements. This is the time that the people of District 181 must step up and realize that public school is important, and even by voting to approve a levy, property tax will continue to go down.
College class size
sign your work with your SSN, taught by a GA, approx 150 to 200 students/class was the norm for some 101 classes in my day. Not much overhead there .
Pie chart the tax dollar
What is the break down of the tax dollar as far as what actually ends up in the classroom.
What are the costs for each class offered in the system? Does it make fiscal sense to have a class with 10 students for AP History where the same student could take History 101 at the Community College and get college credit for the class?
Can the economic base of this community afford a school district that offers both general education and prep school classes?
Is our district top heavy in administration costs as compared to teaching costs?
What is the biggest drain to the district? Is it indirect costs or direct costs?
Just FYI, the referendum
Just FYI, the referendum passed in Pequot was a building referendum to add on to/repair the schools. Someone once told me Bond=Building and Levy=Learning. That has helped me remember which money is used for what purpose over the years.
K-12 funding
Our Brainerd schools offer an outstanding education to our children in the community. I have two very successful graduates of BHS and am proud of the system that educated them.
There were significant cuts to academic services over the past few years due to the failed levy. Class sizes are up and families are paying for more of the extra curricular expenses. Businesses and individuals in town are paying an extra load (in the form of donations) to help kids stay involved. Hopefully, this has given some relief to the folks in the community who need it.
I am a business owner and have had my business property taxes increased dramatically due to the state level promise not to raise taxes. I wish the state would step up and make sure that all schools are fully funded, but politics and rhetoric are in the way there. That leaves it up to us to support ourselves. We must do that.
Without continuing the existing levy and perhaps increasing it a bit to cover inflation over the last 10 years is a good idea.
More money does not make a better school system
To jme512 and the rest of you bleeding heart liberals:
When, oh when, are you going to understand that there is not an endless spigot of money. Hello, "we", as a country, just went thru the most traumatic economic disaster of our lifetime. How much money do you think the rest of us have. Like us, maybe the school district should be asked to make better choices. I know I have to. Don't try to tell me that they are using our money we give them as effectively as they can. If that were the case then test scores would be have progressively gotten better as we threw more money at the schools over the years. Maybe, just maybe, voting down the levy will make the school district value our money and be more fiscally responsible with the money they get from us. If not, then they are not in it for the children.
You got it--
and thanks for saying it--now lets all get to work and make them do it---
When are people going to
When are people going to realize that the costs of everything continues to increase...that means food, supplies, books, and especially technology for the students. Things aren't getting any cheaper so why would we cut the funding on something that is crucial for our children? If they don't get funding, they're going to cut EVEN MORE teachers. Do you really want your future leaders to be in an Elementary class with 40 other children? Colleges pride themselves on low student:teacher ratios, why should the younger kids have to suffer and not get help because they are lost among the others? Oh, that's right, because the majority of this community is SELFISH and don't realize that the schools cannot function on ridiculously low amounts.
So when they cut teachers and classroom sizes increase, kids with behavior problems and learning problems and all others are suffering, and the BDD displays our HORRIBLE MCA scores, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ALL THE WHINING because you voted against the levy.
Colleges
don't have lower student /teacher ratios. Where did you go to school. My school had over 3000 in my class alone. Do you really think we had 1 teacher and 5 students?
no surprise
I hope more people log in, this site seems to be dominated by tea party types. Don't people want kids here to get a good education? Pequot Lakes and Pillager passed referendums.
Pequot and Pillager
had a building referendum. Brainerd is greedy and spend thrifts. If you are so outraged, take your paycheck and hand it over to them!
Get you info right--
as mentioned -the Pequot referendum was for buildings and repair/maint. get your ifo correct before you open your mouth and insert your foot---as the old saying goes---why let peopple think you are a fool-when all you need to do is open your mouth and prove it to them that they are correct???
Why does this look familiar?
Oh...that's right. Glad someone decided to use my suggestion to get some public input on this.
Thanks OkeyDokey
Thanks OkeyDokey for your suggestion and your work . You did such a great job of explaining it, I thought we should use it.