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Read comments (89)Only 49 votes were between the "no" vote, which won, and the "yes" vote for the ISL, which would have brought in money for teachers, programs, textbooks and transportation fuel at LCS. The ISL program would have raised money through a combination of state aid, property tax and income tax.
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Also in Le Mars, Dan Smith was re-elected to the District 5 seat on the LCS School Board by about 1,000 votes over opponent Joe Cain, and write-in candidate Mark Hemmingson was elected to the District 3 seat by about 400 votes.
Rositz,
I guess Mr. Smith's response kinda of shoots your misinformed comment down. I am a Catholic who chooses to send my kids to the public school. 70% of the money i give to the church goes to educate students at Gehlen. With your line of thinking, maybe every Catholic family that is in the same boat as me should rechannel our funds and only give to what directly supports our children. We support the church thus we support Gehlen. There are more Catholic families that choose to send their kids to the public school than to Gehlen. Be careful what you with for.
Rositz,
You are right that every Iowa tax payer, whether they have a student in school or not, pays taxes that support education in the State of Iowa.
If parents decide to send a child to a public school in Iowa the school district collects about $5,500.00 from the State to help fund that student's education.
If parents decide to home school or educate their child at a private school, the public school district collects nothing from the State to educate that student.
An example...
Le Mars Community collects nothing from the State of Iowa for students attending Remsen Union.
We offer to help educate Remsen Union students in areas Remsen Union doesn't currently have as a District.
Since the State doesn't reimburse Le Mars Community directly for the classes the Remsen Union students attend at Community, we have to collect it from Remsen Union ourselves.
Some of you seem to have an awful lot of time on your hands to have pages and pages of rants and insults. Maybe your time would be better spent doing some volunteer work or some of that fundraising you speak so highly of.
P.S. Gehlen parents pay taxes to fund LCHS schools in addition to the tuition they pay to send their kids to Gehlen. They're already paying for the school just like any LCHS parent is - then you want to charge them again for coming and taking a class there? WOW - That doesn't quite seem fair!
Thank You Mr. Smith!
She is not better but I know with me taking care of her she will recover!
Hope to get together another time to discuss the issues at hand and find solutions!
Please keep the email address given for further communication!
"15yearresident"
Where did you go? Forest, economics101, and I are still waiting to hear from you on what "fluff programs" which give the students "a feeling of self worth" should be cut at LCS??
ConfusedParent,
One friend showed and we shot the breeze until about 2:00.
Hope the child is better.
Mr. Smith
Due to child illness I was unable to make the meeting at Foster Park on Sunday!
Can I get a briefing of what was all said and done?
confusedparent@live.com
former_resident,
I sure do know what I'm talking about and am not ridiculing you(that's ridiculing, not rediculing).
I certainly do know how to talk on blogs, msn, chat, and the like. It's not the same way I text. When I text, it's to my friends who are aware of the same abbreviations and it's usually when speed is of the essence. It's very different from a public forum such as this one where people expect to be taken seriously. Posters typically don't know one another and are trying to make some statement or impression. I won't waste my time giving you any further advice, though that's not saying you don't need any. I will just leave it at this: there is a difference, yes, and you can certainly feel free to speak and type however you wish. Just be aware that your credibility is up for judgment in any arena, especially when you are publicizing your personal thoughts and opinions. These thoughts and opinions are much more likely to be considered when well-thought-out and well-written. If you aren't concerned about that, then that's completely up to you.
Regards.
In case you didn't see it, there is another article on this Sentinel website that people are commenting on with a similar title about the ISL being voted down.
Some points I would just like to make for everyone to consider:
1) We are setting a very bad example by fundraising for programs, curriculum etc that should be provided by the school general fund. Will salaries be next? One example is that school fees at the beginning of the year could just be increased slightly to partially help with funding. LCS should only be fundraising for extracurricular programs such as band, chorus etc.
2) Another issue is- who is ACCOUNTABLE for spending too much money and not on the right expenses, for example- budgeting properly when lower enrollment was known; buying a building without having operating capital. Maybe LCS should hire Kent Schwiesow back as a budget consultant.
3) To me, the bigger issue is why is different information given out by different school sources and why does it seem to misrepresent or at least not clarify what would be done with the taxes raised? A parent told me that some information that came home from school said some funds would go to raise teacher's salaries. Others are saying the school purchased additional property which I am sure is from a different fund but again where is the money going to come from to maintain more things but or developed? Is the school just telling each group what they want to hear? Nowhere did I read that the counselors for the elementary school would be reinstated which I do believe is a priority. It appears that the administration and the board do not believe they really need to be accountable to the citizens of this community.
4) Even though in comments in the other article, I suggested a community focus group, I have my doubts it would be effective. Dan answered me by telling us that there was a group formed but it obviously wasn't for budget purposes and my past experiences with LCS committees is that they mostly do it for show, appearing to allow input while still going ahead and doing what they want despite recommendations from others.
5)The bottom line here is LCS needs change. Possibly a different Superintendent or different board members. A while ago I had heard the school board referred as the "Yes" board. Saying yes to whatever the administration wanted without much discussion or investigation even when they knew it wasn't in the best interests of the children or the community. I realize the board doesn't have as much power to change things as we would like, but they could certainly be community leaders and stand up to voice their opinions if they see things that need change.
6)Schools also need to get away from the "US" (the school staff)against "Them" (the parents and the community)mentality. Someday, if the legislature allows total school choice, LCS may not have much enrollment at all to budget with.
Still waiting to read what is considered "fluff".
I'm a mom of seven children. Three attend Gehlen Catholic. I am so disturbed by comments made that Gehlen did not encourage people to vote for this tax, and how people are going to not renew their booster club for Gehlen, and even not buying candy from the children at Gehlen. This is so sad that this community tries to pin one school against the other. Gehlen pays for all items that LCHS provides for us, bussing services, football field usage, and the classes that are offered to our students. My son receive special help from teachers who are employed by LCHS even though he attends Gehlen. So, we do rely on LCHS as well as many other community members. It is not "ONE" individual's fault this tax did not pass. Plain and simple the voter turn out didn't happen.
Blame this one on the economic times. It's bad for everyone right now. Wages are down, housing, food, gas and utilities are up. It's a tight market for many people in our rural community.
The blame needs to stop. It's the kids who benefit by a GOOD education
I'm not exactly sure what the "fluff" programs would be either, but I do believe I get the basic meaning behind what 15yearresident said. I can't say that's it even a real problem in our school district, but as a general over-all, there are many schools that have inane programs to teach self-esteem etc. While good self-esteem is important, its not something that should be taught at schools. It goes back to a parent's responsibility to their own children.
Now I do have suggestion, which I posted under another story but I just want to reiterate it.
Why not incorporate the things kids are learning in Health class into the Gym classes? Health and Gym go hand in hand anyway. That would free up a classroom and cut the amount of money spent on materials for the Health class. I don't know how things are done over there now, but when I went to LCHS, Fridays in Gym were always 'free' days. We also had an entire unit on learning how to manually record bowling scores. We also had a unit on line dancing which I don't think is really necessary. I don't know.. this is just a suggestion so please angry parents don't yell at me.
I am a parent of children attending Gehlen and I voted for the ISL.
I certainly understand why people voted against as I was unsure how I was going to vote until the moment I voted.
I appreciate all the support that the Le Mars Community gives Gehlen and I will continue to support the community where possible.
Why don't you two get together and kiss and make up. Both are making fools of yourself. Go on with life and except things as they are because if either of you made any sense all the vote might have been different.
I'll Be There With Bells On!
Thank You Mr. Smith for this opportunity!!!
Let's meet to talk Sunday afternoon at Foster Park.
How would 1:30 P.M. work?
confusedparent.
How did I figure you would want to be there?
I did reconsider what you wrote and you may want to check on that when you have a moment. It's about the best I can do for now.
I know that Iowa has what they call an Endow Iowa program but I'm not sure if that only pertains to private schools or all schools for deductibility purposes.
"Ecomonics101 and DanSmith"
I'd also love to attend this meeting I think so many fokes on here wanna to jab at the jaw but lets get this face to face out in out and see if as adults we can be a little more civilized then critiquing others grammar or just nit picking for the heck of it!
I have ideas so do so many others! I Guess It's Time We Have A Free For All and Let It All Out!!!
When And Where?
YOu Can Count Me In!
I do know that as long as LCHS is recognized as a 501(c)(3) then deductions can be made off the income tax. Usually the PTA organizations have filed for that status as a non profit too.
I was kind of wondering about getting the banks and credit unions in the District involved in some way.
Maybe offering an automatic monthly draw from their customers who have pledged.
We need to have a meeting to ask those in the community for ideas, and get a feeling for willingness to participate.
I could visit with my lawyer friend Dan.
I do know that a number of states offer a tax credit for donations to public schools. Arizona is one of them. So if you donate $100 it is a tax credit applied to your income tax liability. So if you owe 500 in income tax you now owe 400
We had better do it now or it won't happen.
It's hard to say where, maybe we could meet in the library at the high school or if somebody else has a suggestion.
Is there an accountant or CPA who could advise us on tax deductibility?
I have to believe it could be a deductible contribution.
Dan Smith:
What did you have in mind as far as meeting?
Tuesdaysgone:
I have no problem donating my money to educate children. Even yours, if you have any. Keep being selfish. Its "cool".
There needs to be a meeting.
Anybody else?
MommyinIOWA said...
"Why can't the schools just take up a one time donation. I'm sure all the yes voters could come up with 50 bucks. I think that would be like 94,000 dollars. Not enough to save the system, but its still a lot of money."
Good idea!
Or how about figure your tax and donate it.
The T&I is having a meal for their program soon.
Below is a link to a blog about sending donations back in April I think. It was announced at one of the two public comment meetings we had before the second round of cuts.
http://www.lemarssentinel.com/blogs/dans...
aaalright Tuesdaysgone...
that was pretty cute. but u obviously dont kno how to speak on blogs, internet chats, msn, facebook, etc. And coming from a younger generation, i kno abbreviations and internet slang. please dont redicule me for keeping up with the times.
in a formal setting i would spell check and write in formal english, but this is not a formal setting. and i am not completely credible and completely educated on the topic, so how my writing style is portrayed doesnt really matter.
u have no idea what ur talking about and, therefore, are an uncredible source, so i would appreciate it if you wouldnt give me anymore advice. :)
anyways, back to the topic, eh?
Talk to your children, grandchildren, neighborhood children, ask how they feel about the vote. Mine are devistated, and now they fear what they may lose.
economics101,
We would need quite an increase in students to completely dodge some cuts.
The property tax portion won't begin to be collected until July '09. The income tax would be July '10.
In talking to some people last night that voted both yes and no and giving some ideas to help. The board still has a big hurdle to cross. When this comes to a vote in April of 2009 my best guess would be funds won't be 100% available for actual use until the 2010-2011 school year. So, I would assume that their may need to be more cuts to balance budget. I read the article on the T and I program and they are making do with fundraisers since the amount needed isn't huge. So creativity and a can do attitude has payed off for the T and I program. Am I correct Dan Smith in my assumption of available funds?
former_resident,
sum uv it kin be ecsquesed as STYLISTIC but sum cant. most everbuddy noes that 2. it depenz on how seeriusly u wanna b taken and how much credabilidy u expeck to have. ppl judge u by the way u speek and rite whether its ok or not: nun of us wanna b perseeved as dum or unedjacataed. Considder that a free little peese of edjacashon to go along with ur enjaneering. :)
Anytown,
Yes, you did misspell a few words. Also, your punctuation is atrocious and you should probably look at your sentence structure a bit more closely.
You asked for it, I delivered.
OHHH! MommyInIowa! GOOD JOB! That's about the most intelligent idea to come out of the entire situation!
Seriously, yes-voters, what do you think about her idea? That's so smart, why didn't the school board think of that? All of you who are so for this ISL, go on ahead, chip in! If it's only a one-time 50 bucks, it shouldn't hurt you, right? So which one of you is going to be the one to start the fund at one of the local banks?
Where did all the other comments go? There were nearly forty last I saw...very strange...
RE:Redwhiteandblue
You are reacly right what about the land deal that the City Council is doing. I don't hear anyone saying anything about the City Council!
Ok, its now over. This thing can now be put to rest. It didn't pass. Its not the end of the world. The sky is not going to fall. Nor is this world going to stop turning. We need to now worry about what will be cut and live on. Our community is filled will Americans. And with being an American it gives us the right to have our own opinions. We quickly forget that when things don't go our way. Call it selfish, or call it dumb. But I call it freedom. The freedom to choose. And with that freedom we have the right of free speech (as shown on here). These are all things we take for granted. Saying that you will slam the door in Gehlen students faces is one of the most self centered, selfish thing I have ever heard of. Doing that to a child is more damaging than voting yes/no to an ISL tax. Why would you do or even suggest something so cruel. We as American are quick to judge and act of things. The thing you need to remember this ISL is not the end of the world. Life will go on NO MATTER WHAT WE VOTE ON!!!
"In My Opinion"
It's interesting how your insult to injury had to include me! Amazing how teaching your children and yourself that there isn't a "QUICK FIX" to every problem out there became such an issue!
Am I sorry for suggesting we fund raise? NOT A CHANCE IN THE WORLD!
I would rather my kids work for a good cause then just assume if we throw money at a situation "It's All Better Now!" You can't teach kids that every time, times get rough you beg for money! You can't teach kids that every time you can't afford something, SOMEONE else has to pay for it! You can't teach kids that when some people can't afford an increase in their budget WHAT SO EVER that they don't care, they're cheep!
I'm sorry let me rephrase that, because I would hate to tell people how to parent!
SO I WON'T TEACH MY KIDS MONEY GROWS ON EVERYONE ELSE'S TREES AND WE BEG FOR IT!
I will teach my children that WORKING HARD, STAYING WITH A PROGRAM, EXCELLING, COMMITMENT and ACCOMPLISHMENT are what LIFE and BECOMING an ADULT are all about!
Look Up Fund Raisers and how they have helped children with self esteem, self worth, the feeling of accomplishment! Most kids are shy and are nervous but with fund raising they feel apart of something big and it teaches them, the more they do the better the out come is!
Brighter futures aren't here tomorrow, they take time to achieve!
Explain how a tax is going to teach the children ANYTHING!?
Explain how all this bickering and whining about "YOU SHOULD HAVE VOTED YES" is going to help my children let alone anyone's children ANYTHING!?
I may be dumb to some of you and I may be a complete moron to others but I know I have some amazing kids! They have good values, respect, manners and APPRECIATE all they have! Believe me we DON'T have allot but we make do with what we can! My kids are NOT ungrateful, they know mom and dad do all they can and if we say "WE CAN'T AFFORD IT!" They don't beg! They know we have to WAIT and in the end the outcome will be so much BETTER!
So critique me for seeing my children as my NUMBER 1 importance, critique me because I didn't VOTE YES, even critique me for explaining how I feel on here, BUT DON'T YOU EVER ASSUME OR CRITIQUE ME FOR BEING THE PARENT I AM! I'm a DAM GOOD PARENT!
I discipline and I keep their attention, I help them understand the importance of helping others out, being kind an courteous, taking responsibility for their actions and the VALUE OF A DOLLAR! My kids get an allowence but not just aoutomatically every week they have to work for it! Putting away dishes is $0.50, picking up the living room $0.25, refilling toilet paper rolls $0.10 ect, ect, ect.... You get paid by what you do and YOU WILL WORK AT IT!
They fight with each other, they sometimes want to be lazy and they even make messes! But they also understand MOM WON'T STAND FOR IT! I Do not have PERFECT children but Dam It Who does?
Kids need Love, Respect, Acknowledgment, Guidance, Encouragement and Parents who are willing to be there instead of signing a check to say "DONE!"
I'm A Hands On Parent, Not Part Time!
How many of you Whining, Complaining, Moaning and Groaning on here can say that?
Are you all more upset there isn't a quick fix? or that us vote NO people have given you a chance to spend more time with your children?
Get Involved With Your Kids Listen To What They Think We Should Do Next! Hear what they suggest and bring those ideas to the meeting on the 22nd!
There Is No Such Thing As A Quick Fix!
If It Sounds Too Good To Be True Then It Is!!!
Why can't the schools just take up a one time donation. I'm sure all the yes voters could come up with 50 bucks. I think that would be like 94,000 dollars. Not enough to save the system, but its still alot of money.
Have kids changed?
My boys were never real wild about going door to door selling things to raise money for some goal that was way out in the future. They were learning something though. The lesson was, and still is, "I am working for something that is bigger than me".
As the adults answering the door we become a teacher. If we are pleasant, have a conversation, and make the transaction fun, the "salesperson" will take away a far different experience in life than a flat out no from a grump.
To be honest with you, for me the conversation is the best part of the transaction.
As for the kids, another name on a line or a box that is a little lighter is the reward. Along with learning that if you keep moving forward the quicker you get finished.
Not to mention the hopefully good memories when they have a house of their own and the doorbell rings.
Wow! Using the big number - $55/year - I'd have to come up with roughly 15 cents/day to support our schools and community. Am I disappointed with the vote? You bet! Will I quit buying cookie dough and candy bars from 3 or 4 different kids as some suggest? Probably not. Will I still support Little League and the Boy Scouts when they knock on my door? I think I will. That's what is (was) neat about small towns. Everyone trys to support everyone. Are times tough? Probably more so to some than others. What's the rallying point? In most small towns, it's the schools.
Do I like taxes? No one does. However, I did get an education with the help of cheap, subsidized loans, I do like the new 4 lane highway paid for with tax dollars. It still seems rediculous to me, but I use it. I even like the new, tax payer funded bike trails around LeMars. How many "no" voters benefit from taxes? Farm subsidies - small business loans and grants - subsidized college loans - free or reduced school lunches - snow removal etc. etc. I bet the same % as "yes" voters.
But this is different I know. This time, it's "waste" I've been told. This time we're taking a stand - drawing a line in the sand at the doors of the schools. Unbelievable!
I don't envy our school board members. Thanks for volunteering. It's so easy for folks to sit behind home plate and critize an umpire when they've never stepped foot on a diamond.
I'm disappointed! (I probably misspelled a few words too. Go ahead and critize me.)
To 15yearresident
We're still waiting. What "fluff" programs that give the students a "feeling of self worth" would you recommend the school board cut? Maybe you should first confer with swimorsink so that you don't offend him/her with your proposal or better yet maybe you could sign up the ConfusedParent to have him/her head up some fundraisers so that we could prevent the upcoming cuts and "get down to the real business, i.e. educate".
Forest and economics101
Have you heard from 15yearresident as to what "fluff" programs should be cut? I'd be interested in the specific cuts (amounts included)15yearresident is recommending be made.
were obviously from different generations. im an engineering student, i know the importance of detail when its needed.
anyways, back to the topic...
former - Really? Why not make an effort to use correct spelling and grammar all the time? Blog or no blog, it should be the norm for educated people.
gm - Why should you stay here? I can't answer that and still stay positive.
Still waiting on the definition of what is considered "fluff".
I don't think that the "no" voters understand the possible impact of this decision. Lets say it would have passed. So the taxes get raised a little, but they would still be among the lowest in the state. If some of the "no" voters thought about moving somewhere else, they would find there to be no advantage since they would likely be paying higher taxes in their possible new location. But for the people whose families go to this school, such as mine - we may very well consider moving to a neighboring community. In my case, I work in Sioux county where they also have strong school systems, but without the bickering and fighting that goes on here. Crime rate is low, quality of life is good, just like Plymouth county. Someone tell me why I should stay here.
jaredritz
get a clue..this was not and never will be a gehlen vs. lchs vote. it is about money not being managed and people not living within their budgets. let the people who voted 'yes' foot the bill...it is not just gehlen people...it is elderly people, people living pay check to pay check and people tired of public schools getting whatever they want...$$$
its a blog, proper spelling and grammar gets thrown out the window. most people know that.
It's odd that the yes-voters talk about education. Three of them either write with every word capitalized (?) or can't spell. Come on, now, was a NO vote really a vote AGAINST education. Let's not minimize it to that. That's cleverly manipulating semantics, isn't it? Nobody is voting against education and we all know it.
It didnt pass people, do you really think this is the last of it? It will come back to a vote in April and we will all be here again. This is AMERICA, this is how it is done. Some things pass, some things fail. Throwing blame gets no one anywhere. I am just grateful I live in a country where I am given an opportunity to vote for such a cause.
i am sad that this did not pass again. ur ignorance and greed is only hurting this town. as a 2006 graduate of LCHS, i am thankful that my education wasnt personally affected by the cuts, but i can clearly see that the quality of this school district is going down hill fast.
someday this will pass. hopefully we can then dig ourselves out of the hole.
"Im thinking about moving out of this town it full of snooty stupid people."
csh51031: I live in this town and I am NOT snooty nor am I stupid. I can see your anger because I too am upset that it didn't pass but that doesn't give anyone the right to go assuming that this town in full of "snooty stupid people" as you put it. :)
I think this town is pathedic. Is it that hard to vote yes for education. Seriously all the damn penny pinchers and so called rich people in this town had the vote no signs in their yards. Go figure huh the rich cant afford $53 dollars a year. I always thought this town prided its self on education but i guess not. As a 2001 graduate and having a kid on the way i wanted to be able to send my child to T&I but now wont be able to thanks to that no vote. These progams really do help kids out. The T&I program helps develop kids that may be in trouble into some fine young adults. I saw it many times. Yes I hope the vote comes around again and I hope it passes. Dont blame gehlen parents for this look at the polls it was the small crapy towns of brunsville and craig that helped this fail. Every other town had passing votes. GET REAL LEMARS EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT. SO IS THE ISL VOTE. I may only be 25 and i may not know alot because of it but I do know this was important. THANKS LEMARS Im thinking about moving out of this town it full of snooty stupid people. Scott Bixman you are right on with your statement i agree with you.
I voted no the first time, I did not attend any info meetings, and I do not agree with how the budget has been handled thus far. I did vote yes this time and for only one reason. My daughter at 9 asked early on this year why a specific program was no longer at the grade school that she and others really enjoyed. I told her about money and the tax vote and she pleaded with me to vote yes. If this extra program that may not be needed but enjoyed means that much to her then I can somehow come up with the extra tax money. And I as an LCHS parent will still buy candy and go to the Gehlen ball because the money spent be it taxes or fundraisers is for the community as a whole, our pride in Le Mars, and most important our kids.
Thank you sramel. I was going to say the same thing.
I really don't understand tjrohde and jaredritz why you would hold a school responsible for a tax not going through. Even if every parent of every student and every faculty/staff member that belongs to the LeMars Community school district voted and voted no we couldn't come up with 1,929 people. If you've read any of my previous blogs I send my kids to Gehlen and I voted yes so again there goes your accustions of Gehlen "people" voting this down.
jaredritz: Gehlen does pay a fee to use the football field (I don't know what it is-probably not thousands of dollars per game) and I as an Iowa tax payer and a parent of Gehlen students already pay for LCS students and my children to go to Gehlen. So those classes the Gehlen kids take are not free.
tjrohde: I am on or have been on many committees through school including the Gehlen ball. Thank you for your generous past donations, it is greatly appreciated.
"economics101"
I love that you are willing to scratch that and make better that takes allot of pride to suck up! I appreciate it!
I would love to hear your idea that you stated you had about a 30% increase! Whether our opinions matter or not, I would love to get a group of people together and make that change!
So what if we have small names and we aren't hotsy totsy people in society! I've lived with that all my life I can handle a little more critasism!
But this is about our kids and what we can do to set a better path! Forget those who don't think we matter. We have to be the ones to take that step to making it better!!!
My email is: confusedparent@live.com
I would love to visit about other options with fundrasing!!
Thanks~
Still waiting to hear what the "fluff" is to be cut. What is it you think is "fluff"? And what is it that you are going to find in the closets? Be specific. Come up with the answer.
15yearresident - you harp on the old political spin of "The schools job is to EDUCATE, this means quality education of the basics. It does not mean college level classes that are given free of charge, it does not mean vocational programs." Yet you want to cut. Have you ever been in the classroom to see the education happening? Probably not.
Vocational programs do educate. Not every student is going to college. In fact across the nation 60% of those who start college drop out. So what is going to be their job?
"HS is not there to develop everyone to his/her full potential, but to give them the BASICS for the rest of their education/life." I apologize now, but this is a not so smart remark. Don't develop their full potential but get them set for life? Hmm.
So what should be cut? What is the fluff you are writing about? And if you have the answers, why didn't you run for the school board or attend a meeting?
jaredritz & tjrohde
Daily Sentienl Quote
"With nearly 40 percent of the Le Mars Community Schools district turning out to vote Tuesday"
Please don't blame Gehlen for turning this vote down, why not blame the 60 percent who didn't vote at all.
In fact as far as fundraiser go, I gave 3 different organiztions a concept/idea that would give a 30% commission with no door to door sales, no delvery of product, and for an indefinite time run and that was 2 years ago. STILL NOTHING!! The cost to start 0 dollars and as of today nothing. So sorry confusedparent if I was a bit hasty with what I wrote, but fundraisers are great but all go through the board or Wendt for approval and if you don't count at LCHS. YOU WON"T COUNT for your ideas. Again sorry for the hasty words, our kids are important in Le Mars nad friends at Gehlen don't need to be attacked for maybe a no vote either. I coached alot of the Gehlen boys over the years in summer baseball and they are great kids.
I Want To Attend This Meeting! I would love to hear what I can do without a financial contribution! I know some out there are capable of giving MONEY But I just can NOT cut it!
So if I can express some of my many ideas and have others who have from past articles join me in this it would be AWESOME!
I'm ready to step up to the plate and so is my family!
What time does it start???
;)
The point is that for some the cost maybe as little as 20 dollars but no more than 50. As far as fundraisers go, the point is that, I never said that fundraisers weren't a good idea or that they wouldn't work. My point was that if we can't comeup with 50 or so in taxes how can we come up with 50 for cookie dough, or whatever else the fundraiser maybe. The amount of money needed to keep funding I think far exceeds what a fundraiser can accomplish.
Well...many good points, many emotional comments, many with suggestions. The next school board meeting is September 22nd according to another article. An opportunity to listen, participate and help. Will you be there? Or Not? Want to help...or not? Be part of the problem or part of the solution?
September 22. They meet twice a month.
tjrohde:
your claim that "You can rest assured that until this ISL passes the annual $100+ donation I make to the Gehlen Ball each year WILL NOT happen" is definitely your call to make.
but i would like to strongly say that holding gehlen catholic accountable for a school board's and administration's blatant disregard for low income students may be cathartic, but you're deflecting blame to a safer target.
rather than create a boogie man out of gehlen catholic, which i always felt had a nice relationship with lchs, look in the lchs closets to find the real monsters. this mess will remain a mess until the school board and administration answer directly why they went after low income families.
As some comments have stated only (50 some odd dollars) is all it would take... That wasn't a direct quote being there were 2 different amounts made on this site! I believe one was $53 and the other was $55. So I am just estimating!
But I would like to state that we may not be able to afford that as I mentioned with my financial income but I am more then willing to put my time in PRO BONO to help with fundraisers! If that is such an issue for some to do!
Is that the issue you here!? We just would rather throw money at an issue than acknowledge it!? We would rather throw money and walk away then put time in to help!? I mean I have stated allot of times lets fund raise but I don't hear to many jumping on the bandwagon for that. Yet I do hear allot of whining, complaining and moaning about Vote YES not passing!
Why is it so tough to take that, deal with it and make something better out of your loss!? Old Clique:(WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS MAKE LEMONADE)
Why couldn't we make more money by fundraisers? Why couldn't we stop being lazy and worrying about our self indulged lives and help out? Explain why it is so easy to just flash a few dollar bills and say "OK TAKEN CARE OF" then actually getting off our pedastools and putting time, effort and excitement into teaching our children how to help the school make some extra money?
Yes, we all our SO BUSY!!! I understand that but we need to learn that money isn't always the answer and that sometimes showing your children how to get involved and being right there by their sides is the BEST lesson they could EVER LEARN let alone REMEMBER!
I'm Willing To Help Out With Out A Pay Check Coming MY Way! I'm Willing To Get My Children Involved! I'm Willing To Do My Part, Being I Can't Financially Swing What Apparently So Many Of You Can! But Those Are The Cards I Was Dealt, I'm Not Whining, Complaining, Moaning or Giving Up I'm Offering To Help With What I Can!
economics101:
sorry, i don't follow your point. can you please elaborate?
For those that are not paying any or very little state income tax and are renting their home or an apartment would not only have the benefit of LCHS but pay little or nothing by voting yes for the tax with all the benefits at LCHS. Renting a house or apartment and a $1000 state income tax would yield a 20 dollar tax. Renting a house or apartment and no state income tax paid or filed would yield 0 dollars paid for a simple yes vote to the ISL while still having a great school system. Working yesterday does not disenfranchise anybody from voting, it's called absentee ballots and there were over 600 of them with this election.
From the reading of these letters I think we are too late for educating you people. It's really nice to know that education has split our town. I noticed that the Merrill City Council endorsed this plan but no noise from Le Mars fearless council. They're still buying land with no public imput but no one cares about that. Get over it and lets vote again in April 09. It's fun to hear from people about something.
As I have said on this forum many times before. The schools job is to EDUCATE, this means quality education of the basics. It does not mean college level classes that are given free of charge, it does not mean vocational programs. If you want to go to college, GO! If you want to learn a vocational trade, GO!
These things NEED not be provided at the HS level, they are nice, but not required. It is more important that students know how to write a proper report using appropriate grammar and know how to do basic math, than take a welding or college level class.
I know that sounds like a contradiction, but ALL students must be EDUCATED and given the same opportunities. HS is not there to develop everyone to his/her full potential, but to give them the BASICS for the rest of their education/life. (Yes, it is possible to get an education from life, without attending any secondary education, just ask anyone over the age of 55, the majority of them did not even have the opportunity to graduate HS, and they did pretty well for themselves.)
So, back to my original comments, stop trying to SCARE the public, you have a bigger budget and less students than you have ever had....the money is there to handle the important basic education programs......do the math! (unless you didn't learn how to in HS!)
I voted yes as the $53/year for kids' education is a no brainer in my opinion. I would pay double if I could. You can rest assured that until this ISL passes the annual $100+ donation I make to the Gehlen Ball each year WILL NOT happen. I would also assume that everyone of you who voted NO will be voting for no new taxes in November by voting for McCain/Palin!
I don't understand how someone can "Love" Le Mars, want to start putting an effort into our children's best interest, and yet vote NO. That's a contradiction if I ever heard one!
and when times are tough, you don't eliminate programs for lower income individuals for whom the tough times are toughest.
sorry to keep harping, but there needs to be school board accountability for using scare tactics to mobilize low income voters (a shady choice) and then cutting the programs vital to low income students (an unforgivable choice) once those tactics proved ineffective.
there should be such unrest at this injustice!
By the way "Forest",
I don't think anyone WANTS to see a teacher family have to leave, but guess what, times are tough & student enrollment is down. When you have less students, that means less teachers. It's just common sense. If a company's business is down, they don't go & hire more employees. Just ask those laid off from Wells & Harkers.
Bottom line is, when times are tough, you tighten your belt, you don't ask for more.
Not sure how many more buckets of cookie dough I can PURCHASE, $55 was cheap...
"economics101"
Again personal attacks are unnecessary!!! Also if you would have TRULY read what I wrote you wouldn't have been so misguided in MY PERSONAL OPINION!!!
Just because some didn't get their way, doesn't mean it gives ANYONE the right to throw a hissy fit! Correct? That goes for "Vote NO" People and "Vote YES" People!
Do we like it when our children throw temper tantrums for not getting the cereal they wanted? Or not getting the toy they wanted? So why is it OK for adults to do the same? IT'S NOT, NOR SHOULD IT BE ALLOWED!!! Stop the bickering as I put before!
You don't have to take any more out of your pocket! You don't have to pull any checks out of your check book! I NEVER said that!
I simply stated Being so many of us have AMAZING ideas (Which By The Way Your Insult To That Was Also Unnecessary For Everyone's Ideas Are Important! Something I Learned At Le Mars Community School! We All Have Amazing Ideas! At least that's what I was taught by an amazing teacher there and I firmly stick by and agree!)
Anyways as I was saying we can take those ideas and put them to use! This is a way for those who WANT to support can and wont be forced into something that they simply can't afford! My husband and I CAN'T afford anymore money out of our pocket books! Truly we scrape by every month but that's the way we live because we pay our bills, give our children what they NEED not what they WANT, we make sacrifices as adults so that our children can better in life! So as for my stand point on vote NO some of it was because we can barley swindle and extra gallon of milk into our grocery list some months! So I am SORRY if that offends some but I believe that our way of raising our children is the best we can do! But we know that our financial budget will increase one day but for now we deal with what the good lord has given us! WE ARE GRATEFUL!
If we fund raise it works out in a great way for the community! The kids, families and even those who don't have kids in school who wish to help out can! It's not just a hand out, it's not a forceful amount from your taxes, it's not anything you're not comfortable with! It's simple if you don't want to go then DON'T! No one will be twisting your arm, no one will be forcing you, you will have the free will do go if you choose or stay home if you choose also!
Your Vote Yes might not have gone through but why throw in the towel now!? Why not use other options out there to help out!?
Also one more thing I never said I agrees with "cut the "fluff" programs that are there to give the students "a feeling of self worth"." section of "15yearresidents" statement! If you would have read what I wrote I simply agreed with the "now the school board will finally get down to the real business. i.e. educate"
I would appreciate any further attacks made on me to be a little more accurate then assumptions!
Thank You All For Your Time!!!
I agree about the scare tactics. If I had a dollar for everytime I heard a school official or teacher say "I can't tell you how to vote... BUT if you vote no it will be very bad."
My 3 kids were thoroughly indoctrinated by the school system. Luckily, my money saavy 4th grader got it right when she told me, "I hope you vote no, daddy. The school is just too greedy."
I voted YES. I can live with a clear conscience. I put children and the good of this town above the love of money. I voted on the real issue at hand and not my dislike for any individual or group. For those of you who voted NO: Ask yourself why. If you felt our schoolboard mismanaged finances then run for schoolboard!! If you don't like the superintendent, fine... but don't punish the children. He won't be around forever but once the district starts suffering the city will follow. Who will move into a community with a weak school district? Le Mars needs more business, industry, good physicians and surgeons. Do you think a weak school will contribute to obtaining any of these things? We will all suffer from this decision. Teachers and students will suffer in the short term but we all will suffer eventually. I was born here and lived here my whole life except my college years. I'm disappointed and sickened by "the majority" of you!
This town should be ashamed of itself. Never before have I felt that this town would be this ignorant and put a few dollars ahead of our kids' education.
For all the Gehlen folks, how about we actually start charging you a couple thousand dollars per football game to use our field. Or for all the classes your kids use over at community we could charge a hefty price instead of allowing them to basically go for free.
Way to go Le Mars! You really put the kids first on this one.
after writing the previous post, i realized the term 'lower class' doesn't capture, really, what i'm trying to say.
when i say 'lower class', please understand i mean 'lower income'. indeed, some of the classiest people i know have the lowest incomes. :)
I voted YES. I can live with a clear conscience. I put children and the good of this town above the love of money. I voted on the real issue at hand and not my dislike for any individual or group. For those of you who voted NO: Ask yourself why. If you felt our schoolboard mismanaged finances then run for schoolboard!! If you don't like the superintendent, fine... but don't punish the children. He won't be around forever but once the district starts suffering the city will follow. Who will move into a community with a weak school district? Le Mars needs more business, industry, good physicians and surgeons. Do you think a weak school will contribute to obtaining any of these things? We will all suffer from this decision. Teachers and students will suffer in the short term but we all will suffer eventually. I was born here and lived here my whole life except my college years. I'm disappointed and sickened by "the majority" of you!
tuesdaysgone:
why is it the heartstring pullers? it's (somewhat) crafty political maneuvering.
the people trying to pass the isl knew people in the upper classes are more regular voters. those people alone are not enough to carry the vote, though. the school board needed lower class individuals, who are less frequent voters (because they have to work, because they are disenfranchised), to vote in big numbers to ensure the isl passed. how could they get them to vote? by putting their programs on the chopping block. as an added benefit, the school board members, who are largely from solid socioeconmic backgrounds, don't have to hear their well-to-do friends moan on a private level about "their" programs being cut.
generally a pretty strong strategy, although the school board should have noted the economic downturn of late in lemars. getting lower class individuals to take on a tax while jobs are being cut in the community is not the easiest thing to do.
that's the shame. the programs put on the chopping block were placed their not out of priority but out of a political agenda. the end result is that individuals in the lower classes are hit hardest (they can't pay to have private preschool, etc.) by a plan that attempted to manipulate them to vote and now jerks them over. and from where did that plan originate? from school board members who i doubt understand what it is like to use food stamps, to rely on governmental daycare, and to send their kids to clark elementary (correct me if i'm wrong).
i know the issue of the proposal passing is major, but we can't lose sight of how anti-lower-class this whole isl business has been. that, more than the proposal failing, is what should make supporters of lchs sad and downright angry.
Of all things that can divide a community, I didn't suspect that support for the education of our children was one of them. During the events leading up to the vote on the ISL, I heard a great deal of misinformation concerning the proposal from numerous critics of our school board. In my discussions, two things became apparent: First, many of those I spoke with who were misled or misinformed about the ISL simply didn't want to be informed. I think we have an obligation to our children to find out as much as we can about such issues so that an informed decision can be made in their best interests. Second, while many folks opposed to the ISL were quick to offer criticism of the school board, few were willing to assist in offering realistic solutions, and none of those I spoke with were willing to run for a seat on the board (as evidenced by the lack of any candidate for District 3). When we elect individuals to public office to do a job, and when they have studied a difficult issue to the extent the ISL was studied, I think we ought to trust their judgment absent some specific and compelling reasons to oppose it. Perhaps there's something more to this that I don't understand, but for $53 a year, I just can't see myself ever voting against education. Is it possible to spend too much money educating our children?
The next go round will surely come in April 09.
That is the earliest this can be put to a vote.
I voted no, but I am curious to see what cuts take place and what the numbers are for students this school year. Up or down enrollment.
People need to REALLY understand that by raising this particular tax could, no would, have meant a raising of goods and services to all who live in this community. Taxes are passed on to the consumer. Other than the large chain businesses in this town, I predict businesses would have to raise their prices to compensate for the new tax.
So, if you have a 100k home and the number for the tax is $22.00 per year, (just using the numbers originally offered), that is the initial tax. HOWEVER, small businesses would also raise the prices for the goods and services that they offer for their products. Almost everything in the town that we buy would cost more. This is not an individual tax, but a collective tax payed over and over again for the next ten years.
I am not against the children of this town.
We need those in charge to better handle the money that they have to work with. What the school board wanted was a bailout.
Again, we told them no. Sadly, we will have to hear this song and dance again next spring....
Well isn't this great now they can get rid of more programs that that the childern of Le mars need!! I AM SOO SAD TO HEAR ALL OF YOU ON HERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THIS VOTE NO WAS GREAT. Well for you people that don't need the the programs for your kids you of course will not need the programs that will have to be cut. SHAME ON YOU!!!!! Back off of Dan Smith PLEASE HE IS A GOOD MAN SHAME ON YOU.
Ad hominem attacks are not necessary and are degrading to your character. Keep it civil.
So our NO vote went through. For the second time. Are they going to shove this at us again and again until they get a YES? Not going to happen. It was close this time, though. But I'm not fine with paying higher taxes for up to ten years because the school can't follow a budget properly. And why is it they're always threatening to cut the programs that are the heart-string-pullers (i.e., TK, music, etc.)? Why not basketball or cheerleading or some of those middle and upper management positions we might be able to do without?
15yearresident and confusedparent
Please list the "fluff programs" you would like to see cut from the budget. And "a feeling of self worth" is important to not only kids but adults as well. If you have ever talked to or visited with any type of counselor be it school or otherwise that simple feeling or really lack thereof is called or can be called depression. Selfworth is the backbone of productive teens and adults alike. It's called (selfesteem.) Why would we want to raise money by these "amazing ideas" when we don't want to spend any additional money with taxes? I'm not sure I get a "no vote on taxes" but a yes vote to raising money other ways. Isn't the money still coming out of my check book? Our school may not have always been the most brilliant at allocating money in the past but neither has our city or county and yet this article and the other ISL articles have drawn by far more posts than when the City and County raised our taxes. At least the School has asked for our permission (vote) and not just gone ahead and did it like the other 2 entities. And the "our school" means Le Mars and surrounding areas. Other students from the area benefit from some of the schools programs. So it's is our school. Le Mars, Iowa
"15yearresident"
I agree it is great that those of us who voted NO got what we were praying for! I am very grateful that like you said "now the school board will finally get down to the real business. i.e. educate!" I couldn't agree more!!!
But I feel it's not an adult or proper thing to do by singling out only Dan Smith and basically starting a war here on this site!
We all have our own opinions but it is unnecessary to knowingly instigate an argument! It is time we all stop bickering and now help each other out!
We may have voted NO but our job is not done! We have all these amazing ideas as to how the school can raise money and save ourselves a few bucks right? So lets now take our time to help out and give them those ideas! Lets start putting an effort into our children's best interest and stop our "Whining, Moaning, Complaining and Attacks!" Lets pull together and show our children how a community can get together for their best interest!
My children might be young and actually too young to read this site and understand but I still feel that if they could, how are we any better then a school bully if we are personally attacking people on here!?
I Do Not ALWAYS agree with what people say on here but we shouldn't personally attack each other anymore! We don't want our kids to be that way correct? Then why should we make the exception for ourselves!? Does that sound fair? let alone logical?
I Love Le Mars to an extent! Do I plan on moving anywhere else? Not until my children are grown and out of school! This community we can send our children out to play in back yards, ride their bikes and have friends! We are lucky to have such a safe environment for them! We are blessed for that! Le Mars may lack a financial income at this point in time, we may lack a shopping mall, a TGI Fridays, ect... But what we do have is an AMAZING community where KIDS can be KIDS!
Lets all realize we have it pretty easy compared to some bigger cities out there!
I'm not some hippie spreading peace but I am GRATEFUL for where I LIVE and what I HAVE!
Awesome Vote NO Went Through! But instead of me gloating I'm ready to help!
Where Do I Sign Up?
Please be specific. Which "fluff" programs do you wish to see eliminated, and which specific teachers and their families do you wish to leave our community due to job loss? It is now time to stop using generalities and make the specific choices.
OK, now the school board will finally get down to the real business. i.e. educate the students, cut the "fluff" programs that are there to give the students "a feeling of self worth".
Maybe the board should spend more time concentrating on EDUCATION and less on trying to SCARE THE PUBLIC.
I doubt it, watch for the Dan Smith scare tactic outcry!