Last Sunday, an Open Forum writer accused the Pequot Lakes School Board of trying to sneak the bonding vote through while the heavyweight taxpayers are absent. Nothing could be further from the truth. The simple fact is that Feb. 8, 2011 is the soonest that state law permits a bond referendum. And passing a referendum now would mean that construction could be completed by the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year. Further delay would likely push completion back until the next year.
A similar referendum failed last summer. Since then, classroom crowding has gotten worse. For example, based on increased elementary school enrollment this fall, another kindergarten class had to be added just as classes began. But don't take my word for it. Enrollment figures are public information and can be easily obtained through the district office. In fact, the district welcomes the opportunity to give voters as much information as possible to ensure an informed vote.
Don't waste time listening to naysayers spouting misinformation about the referendum. Eligible voters that winter in warmer climates can easily obtain an absentee ballot. Voters that need more complete information can visit the district's website or can attend one of five public meetings, which are listed on the home page. And voters that are inclined to vote in favor of the capital bond must make their wishes known by making every effort to vote on Feb. 8.
If the capital bond referendum fails, the school board will almost certainly have to use its contingent levy authority to make essential repairs and to create more adequate classroom space. The cost to taxpayers could be nearly as much as the cost under the capital bond, but with much less favorable terms. The need is not going away. Please vote yes on Feb. 8.
Jill Andersen
Breezy Point
Keeping secrets secret
While in the Army, I received a top secret security clearance and felt somewhat honored.
Secure classes were held in rooms with blacked out windows, covered with heavy metal mesh; guards standing by outside. This was during the Cold War with China and the Soviet Union, the two greatest threats to democracy (actually, primarily threats to corporate capitalism, I eventually learned and realized).
No paper or pens allowed: no note taking. Textbooks were kept in a heavy safe, given at the beginning of each day, collected at the end. Our class of seven waited while the instructors made sure each page of each book was intact, before locking them up again and releasing us.
One Saturday a sergeant, walking through the barracks of another class, spotted someone reading one of these top secret books! He flipped out, arrested the student, and after three days of refusing to believe it, verified the book was purchased in the local war surplus store. Several more were still there. Hmmm.
I told my dad this story, then learned I'd been in this top secret class before the FBI completed my clearance! Turns out also that the FBI sent some forms, etc. to my previous employers. One of them was nearly illiterate, but knew my dad, so asked him to fill it out! Dad said he wrote highly of me!
The FBI team visited my hometown and asked people I knew about me. Some confided later they told the FBI to scat - they didn't like government interference in their lives! Hard to believe anyone would do that in this Facebook age.
All too often government classifies things to keep them from the enemy": the people. We really need to elect a better class of Americans to office. WikiLeaks might be a good cleanser.
A. Martin
Merrifield
Comments (18)
Add commentDOD and DOE secrets
I worked at a Los Angeles lab for several years which was engaged in classified programs, and I held multiple clearances of the type described in Al Martin's letter. I continued those efforts when I moved to 3M Company. My experience was quite different. I found the various federal agencies to be very professional in the way they dealt with me, my references, and the information in programs that I worked on.
Rolf Westgard
Good point Rolf
I prefer to think your experience more closely resembles reality. Al is paranoid..the govt. looks as the people as the enemy..etc. WikiLeakes is a cleanser? Pretty sad, really.
Isn't the government us?
"All too often government classifies things to keep them from the enemy": the people.
Al, me thinks the weed is strong in Merrifield!!
Rolf is Right
I held a clearance for 20 years and my experience matches that of Mr. Westgard.
Strange
I don't think I have ever read anything from Mr. Martin that rings of either truth or reality. It seems to me that there are 2 people that are always sending letters to the Dispatch that are in a word, wierd. One is Al and the other is Jesse Nix. These are the same kind of off the wall crap the the Tuscon shooter would understand!
Top Secret
I had and used a security clearance during the mid-sixties and never experienced anything like Mr Martin describes.
After discharge I continued to work, as a civilian contractor,
in and around secure facilities and still never saw anything
like that.
school taxes
cute-either vote for a increase OR we will do one anyway! has anyone ever seen a school with enough money? over time leeches kill their prey by sucking them dry! just vote no.
school taxes
look at the foreclosures today -tax increases are absurd!
Tax increase
Of course the taxes have to be increased--property values are falling.
In the mean time, increased school spending does not
produce smarter citizens.
Response to airhobbies2's comment
Airhobbies2, I'm amazed at your comment where you said, "increased school spending does not produce smarter citizens." Actually if the increased school spending is on improvements to the educational process, then that increased spending does in fact produce smarter citizens.
Response to moonhawk's comments
Moonhawk, for someone with property in the main part of Pequot Lakes, the amount of their property taxes that goes to the school district is less than 8%. The amount that goes to the county and the city combined is more than 91%. The percentage of property taxes going to the school district is small. There is no doubt that the rate of foreclosures in the current state of our economy is high, but don't blame the school district for that. I seriously doubt that there is even ONE home that has been lost to foreclosure due to the property owner not being able to pay their very small amount of school taxes.
Web3 response
If increased school spending increased the ''learning''
process I would say spend, spend. But that does not
appear to be the case. In fact the reverse appears to
be true.
Response to airhobbies2's comment
Airhobbies2, you used the word 'appear' in your comment. Do not base your vote on appearances! Your perception of appearances may not be in line with what is actually happening in our schools. There is an informational meeting given by the school district on Tuesday, January 18th at 6:00pm in the gathering room at the Pequot Lakes High School/Middle School. Part of that meeting will include a tour of the building so that people can see firsthand some of the problems the school is facing that have led to the need for this referendum. Do not base your vote on 'appearances.' Go in and see for yourself. PLEASE get informed before you vote.
Web3 response
I have looked at a lot of buildings. The kicker is that we confuse buildings with schools and ''programs'' with learning. If increasing spending increased learning
we would be able to see the results.
The amount we are spending is quantum leaps above
what was spent a generation ago.
We do not have a proportional increase in the number
of doctors, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs,
or really good small engine mechanics.
Whatever we are spending the money on,
it is not producing the results we say we want.
We complain about jobs going off-shore but we
are not listening to the business community's comments
about the poor quality ''product'' our schools are sending
to the workplace.
Response to airhobbies2's comment
But have you looked at the state of disrepair at the High School/Middle School building in PEQUOT LAKES? This referendum vote is not about buildings in other school districts. It is only about the buildings in Pequot Lakes.
The reason that the buildings' problems urgently need to be addressed is that the facilities problems are leading to a poorer quality education for the students. The careers you mentioned require training in science and technology. Here are some quotes from an article that appeared in the Echo last December:
"Space constraints and a lack of access to technology is already affecting Eagle View Elementary School and may soon start to affect the ability of teachers to educate their students"
"The loss of the science lab has affected what experiments teachers are able to do"
" 'If the district is unable to add classroom space through a bond referendum, the potential exists for classrooms of over 30 students,' Lenzen said. Those increased class sizes, he said, would adversely affect many students."
http://www.pineandlakes.com/stories/121510/localnews_20101215004.shtml
If you would like to have a better quality "product," as you say, to be sent to the workplace, you need to be in favor of giving the schools the resources they need to produce that "product." I am totally in agreement with you that students need to be better prepared for the workforce, and that is the reason I am COMPLETELY in favor of this bond referendum.
The school district's administration is also doing their best to increase learning. The math curriculum of every grade from K-12 has been revamped in the last couple of years to improve student learning. For last school year, 97% of 2nd graders were reading at or above where they should be for grade level. That is an AMAZINGLY high percentage! The district is doing the best they can with the resources they have. The reason this facilities bond referendum is so important to get passed RIGHT NOW is that overcrowding at the schools and disrepair at the High School/Middle School building is causing the quality of learning to decrease. That decline in learning needs to be stopped RIGHT NOW!
Responder
If the school is hitting a 97% or better literacy
level now, how much improvement will a bigger
building with smaller classes make?
I get your point though--you want a bigger,
better building. Go get 'em Tiger!!
Response to airhobbies2's comment
Airhobbies2, I hope that you do get my point. And my point was not about me wanting a bigger, better building. The students NEED a bigger building so that they can have enough spaces to LEARN in.
So I'll give you another example of why this referendum is necessary:
The elementary school in Pequot Lakes was built for 28 classrooms. The school board at the time wanted the building to have more classrooms for each grade, but voters at the time wanted the school to be smaller. So it was built for 28 classrooms and currently has 32 rooms being used as classroom space. This means that the school has had to repurpose 4 rooms into classroom space. These 4 rooms were the media room, the science room, one of the 2 computer labs, and one of the 2 music rooms. The school board already knows that for next school year there are approximately 160 children in the area who are eligible to enroll for kindergarten at Eagle View. If next year's kindergarten class size is large, next year the school is likely to lose the art room and the 1 music room they now still have. So next year due to not enough facilities space, the elementary school which has more than 700 students is very likely to have no art room, no music room, no science room, and only one computer lab for those more than 700 students.
The facilities issues NEED to be addressed so that this downward trend in the quality of learning does not continue. This referendum is not a WANT. It is a NEED. You cannot expect the schools to churn out scientists and engineers when there is not enough space for them to instruct the students in the skills they need to reach those careers.