We in the Pequot Lakes, Breezy Point, Crosslake school district have a problem and an opportunity many of our neighboring communities would beg for. Our schools are attracting so many children that we don't have space for them all. A community with good schools is a huge draw for incoming residents and the business opportunities they bring with them. The fact that the Pequot School District has a reputation for good quality education has been and will be the main factor in bringing back housing demand and economic growth to this area.
Our problem is that we cannot fit all these wonderful new learners into our existing buildings, and that needed upgrades to our existing buildings have been postponed, to save money, until they are no longer safe or adequate.
The obvious solution is the one our elected school board, after over a year of thoughtful discussion and painstaking work, has recommended to us. On Feb. 8, we can join them in approving the means to finance a much needed construction project that will expand the available space in the elementary building, take care of necessary maintenance and space needs in the Secondary and Middle school building, and improve the outdoor spaces.
Interest rates are at an all-time low. Construction costs projections are lower than ever. We can create our own mini-boost to employment in our own towns. And the cost to us is so small, most of us will not even notice it on our tax bills. My own tax increase (on a $250,000 valued agricultural homestead) will be less than the cost of one fancy coffee a month ($3.67).
This is something we have control over. All we have to do is show up on Feb 8 and vote yes!
Meg Bye
Pequot Lakes
Comments (5)
Add commentShow Up and vote yes - unless
Show Up and vote yes - unless of course you are in Arizona, Florida, California etc - but of course thats the strategy isn't it. Bring up the referendumb when the voters are gone because they have already spoken and don't want it but this is how you can get it passed. No wonder the residents don't support our schools with this type of dishonest robbery.
Show up but vote "no"
That is the way they do things----have in the past and will do it in the future I guess. Honesty or total disclosure is something they know not of-------------
Response to previous comments
Both of the previous comments posted here are inaccurate. The school district contacts every resident of the district by mail to inform them of the details of the referendum. If someone is out of the state for the winter, they are more than likely having their mail forwarded to them, so they will still receive this information. There is total disclosure by the school district, and no one is trying to hide anything. Voters can access the absentee ballot right from the school district's website.
The referendum needs to be passed NOW so that additions to Eagle View and the addition of the 5th grade area at the Middle School can be completed before the school year that starts in the fall of 2012. If the vote were not being held right now, construction on those areas would not be completed by the fall of 2012. So the improvements to the schools would be pushed back another whole school year. Eagle View is overcrowded, so the 5th grade will more than likely be moved to the middle school whether the referendum passes or not. There is also currently no room for the 5th grade at the Middle School. It is very important to the children's education that they not be crammed tightly in at school.
If you have a question about the referendum, ask it. It does not make sense to spout negative accusations that are not even true.
by mail to inform them
I live in Pequot Lakes and have NEVER received a notification of this upcoming vote! And, if it is due to come soon, it would be too late for a snowbird to apply for, get and send back a absentee ballot!
Response to oldandretired's comment
I was told by a district representative that the information is going to be mailed out soon. So of course you have not received it. It has not been sent to you yet, but it is going to be soon. Information is available from the school district anytime you seek it out in case you are too impatient to wait for the mail. And absentee ballots are also available anytime.