![[Le Mars Daily Sentinel]](http://www.lemarssentinel.com/images/nameplate-small.png){kind=small}
RSS
Print
Email link
Respond to editor
Read comments (42)District residents cast 1,880 "yes" votes (49 percent) for the adoption of the funding source for the district's general fund budget, with 1,929 "no" votes (51 percent) cast. The decision needed a simple majority to pass.
(Advertisement)
|
According to the Plymouth County Auditor's Office, 3,237 persons cast ballots at the polls Tuesday, with another 607 voting by absentee ballot. With a possible 8,805 voters in the LCS district, 43.7 percent voted in the election.
A vote in March on the ISL issue for the school district was defeated by a vote of 1,282 yes to 1,708 no for a total of 2,990 votes.
The Instructional Support Levy was sought by the school district's board of directors as an additional source of revenue for the general fund budget for teachers, programs, textbooks and transportation fuel. It combined a mix of state aid, property tax and income surtax.
"I really appreciate all the efforts of the people who tried to turn out a positive vote and were able to increase the yes by 600 votes," said LCS Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt Wednesday morning. "Obviously I'm disappointed that the ISL was defeated by such a small margin."
"It wasn't because of a lack of effort because our supporters worked very hard this time and people took the time to get the facts," he continued.
He said it is too early to talk about what the next steps for the district will be.
"There are seven people on the school board who who meet Sept. 22, and they are the ones to need to make the decisions," Wendt said.
"We'll see what enrollment is on Oct. 1. There's a lot to consider," he said. "Our next step is to have school today, and work with all the kids that did show up today."
Plymouth County Auditor K. Kae Meyer said there were a few issues of voting eligibility at the polls Tuesday.
"Several people who open enrolled children in the Le Mars Community School District wanted to vote, but it matters where you live, not where you open enroll," Meyer said. "Yes, they do have a stake in this, except they're not going to pay the tax."
There were also people who owned land in the district but lived elsewhere who tried to vote, but Meyer said the same rule applies.
"You only vote in the district you live in," she said.
Two reasons for the new gym.
1. There isn't enough gym space to hold practices in an appropriate time.
2. We have outgrown the seating capacity in the old gym, which to me is a good problem to have.
I agree, GoState. What's the deal with the new gym? I think the old one was fine. And for those of you ready to pounce and defend the big gym issue, I have already heard about funding sources, etc. It's still an extra place to maintain, heat, cool, etc. Why spend the money to maintain two gyms instead of one? Again, what's wrong with making smart financial choices?
It is a bad thing that the ISL was voted down. But really what is it going to do for everyone to keep throwing stones at each other. The vote is over. We at LCS will have to come up with another way to try to come up with the funds. As for the topic that it is the schools fault for the teen pregnancy and drug abuse. That is the craziest thing I have heard. School is not a daycare for the parents. School is a place of education. If the parents are unable to teach there children about sex and drugs than maybe they need to take more time out of there lives and spend more time with there kids and teach them the rights and wrongs in life. A parent can only hope that they have educated there child the best they can and hope that they use there best judgment. And the parents have to let the child know that there are consequences for there actions.
Kids are the foundation of our tomorrow! Everyone needs to grow up, come together and spend a little extra money, be it taxes or fund raising. Jeeze! This is ridiculous. Another thing I would like to point out is that the "rich kids" don't all go to Kluckhohn while the "lower income kids" all go to Clark, really. Kids go to the school they do because that is the district they live in! Come on.
Also, so be it every old, retired, been there for a few years or new teacher had a sign "vote YES" in their yard, of course they should be worried about their jobs, why wouldn't they have the sign. I am so sick of this issue, it makes me sick to my stomach that I am so interested in what everyone has to say day after day. And I couldn't agree more with the people that say the vote is over, the world didn't come to an end, nor will the world come to an end over this damn issue. Will everyone suffer from this issue, of course! Am I happy it didn't pass, of course not. Is there something I can do about it, YES, I can get off my butt and step forward to help raise money for our children! (I couldn't be more proud of the T&I students and their parents and how they pulled together. Way to go!) However, I don't think it is fair for some to say that we, who voted yes should pay $50 whatever amount and raise money for the kids because that's what we wanted; To those who are to stubborn to find a way to come up with the money for your kids, it's unreal. Please don't take this in the wrong way because I mean it in the nicest way possible, but i strongly believe it is the parents who don't want to put forth an effort of money to help out just a little bit that have the kids with drug problems or are affected by teen pregnancy! I'm sure I will get some nasty remarks for this comment, but I know I am not the only one thinking it! Sorry :)
I grew up in LeMars but no longer live here so I couldn't vote. But if I could, I would have voted Yes.
So many people here are focusing on the wrong things: I went to Gehlen and not LeMars but I still would have voted yes. I don't even have children in school but I still would have voted yes.
What school I atended doesn't matter - what matters is this Every child's education is my concern and every school's success is my concern. The children are our future. A well-educated community of children will grow into a well-educated community of adults who could potentially someday be my neighbor, my doctor, my lawyer, my car mechanic, my personal care attendant. What's best for our future is investing in our present.
Nobody likes to pay more taxes. But it's an investment. Think of it this way - Does paying a month's cable bill or cell phone bill add to the community?
That's about the amount you could pay to invest in your own children and your own community. Which seems more important to you - the cable or the kids???
@goSTATE
Like others have mentioned, it is the PARENTS responsibility to talk to their kids about drugs and sex. Now this may come as a shocking suggestion, but let's cut out the ridiculous "Health" class. That will save money right there and open up a classroom. What do they really teach in Health class anyway? When I had that class I learned more about how to do drugs than how to avoid them. Besides, it clearly isn't helping as goSTATE mentioned. Teen pregnancy is up and so is drug use among that age group.
I realize that Health Literacy is required as part of the Iowa Core Curriculum, but why not dedicate a portion of the time spent in Gym Class to that? Instead of wasting Friday's as free days (at least they used to when I went to LCHS) take that day to teach about some of the things they would normally learn about in Health Class. Isn't Gym supposed to be about health anyway?
I honestly hope this suggestion will be looked into. Integrating Gym and Health classes would be more efficient. It would save money and open up an entire classroom.
Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is a public financing method which has been used for redevelopment and community improvement projects in the United States for more than 50 years. With federal and state sources for redevelopment generally less available, TIF has become an often-used financing mechanism for municipalities. Similar or related approaches are used elsewhere in the world.
Does anyone know what the TIF TAX is look it up!
Forest- totally agree with you regarding school responsibilities versus parents responsibilities. Unfortunately, too many people expect the school to be the parents.
Swimorsink- could you elaborate on the programs cut and how they were aimed at the lower income?
civilcitizen
Thank you so much for your comments. When is the blame game going to stop? The vote is over- now is the time for ALL to work together to solve this
situation. How about beginning some grassroot
lobbying to get the State of Iowa legislature to
allow the SILO tax to be used for general funds
needs as deemed necessary by respective school boards?? Monies in that fund could still be kept reserved for infrastructure and IF all had to be used, then bring a bond referendum to the people to build a new gym, classrooms. etc... if all the monies were used for text books, salaries, programs. Would that be a bad thing, Mr Representative and Mr Senator?? The legislature can go ahead and put limits on the use, but it would create another means of budgeting with monies already being collected that we didn't have before. I know there are separate funds etc...and the state "ties up" these funds but can't we try?? I am going to start asking and get some answers or I could just sit back ..read these blogs and play the Blame game...Attend meetings, get a petition going??..have school board members, music booster president, athletic booster president, coaches, music & drama teachers, heck ALL teachers, ALL students, ALL parents get together to get a plan of action.
take it to your local politicians and if no satisfaction go to the next level and respectfully demand some course of action. Finger pointing doesn't get things done!!
This is not a Gehlen vs LCHS issue...I know a good number of LCHS voters who voted no....and I am sure there were Gehlen voters who voted yes..but does it really matter any more...redhat??
Continue to get informed and know what you are speaking of, and if not discount your lack of info and ask for clarification rather than blatant remarks........jaredritz...
Gehlen does pay a yearly stipend to use the football field and when a gehlen student goes to
a LCHS class that student is counted for attending that class and LCHS receives state monies for that kid...so they don't go for free!! I was unsure of this process so I went to the people who could tell me and got informed rather than sounding off....
I think this town is lucky to have 2 outstanding
school systems with such loyalty and dedication
by school families for over 50 years of co-existence...I have had family attend both..no reason why that can't continue... the world didn't end yesterday when the votes were counted...the vote most likely will come up again and the outcome could be different...but why don't we get to work to make credible contigency plans because of this vote outcome rather than stand around doing nothing!!
"The question is- who actually prepares the LCS budget each year- is it Dr. Wendt?"
*Dr. Wendt with input from Administration and Department Heads.
"Who is ultimately responsible for its passing- is the school board?"
*Yes the School Board.
"The suggestion is- put a panel together..."
* we have what is called a District Learning and Instructional Impact Team (DLITT). Their makeup is voluntary and I would imagine includes everyone in your list (including students).
It might be tough to continue to find a neutral set of volunteers for this panel.
Another thought is who is responsible for decisions the panel makes?
I think it is important that the School Board make and be responsible for their decisions.
GoState - The issues you bring can not be fixed by the school especially now that funding is cut. Those issues need to be be fixed by the parents at home. That is where the responsibility is, not in the schools. And if you do know who is dealing drugs, tell the police.
As for the building, seperate fund for infrastructure. The current rooms and gyms are inadaquate and in much need of repair and upgrading. May look decent, if you are looking from a mile away.
As a graduate from this school a few years ago I feel that the right decision was to say no to this vote. It teaches LCHS a lesson about maybe spending their money on a new buildings wasn't the right way to spend it since our school looks pretty decent. Yes it does need some work but there are bigger issues within the school. Maybe the school should focus on things like the drug issues, or teen pregnancy which seems to be a rising issue. As I was home for the summer we did the math about 50% of my graduating class is now a parent and thats pretty sad being that we are only 19 years old. Most of them were parents before we graduated maybe LCHS needs to step up on the sex issue. Also I don't think its normal when every-time you walk the hallways the student hears a conversation about drug dealing. Are these things that should really be going on within the school? As for cutting the counselors, obeisance programs, t-k and classes that kids seem to really enjoy like the shop program. We need all that to improve the environment of the school and once that happens then maybe you should start thinking about other things.
All right everyone, what is done is now done. The question is "what now?" We all have a responsibility to begin attending board meetings, learning what we can about the issues of school finance, listening to each other with respect, asking questions at the meetings for things we want clarified, and then deciding what to reduce and how? What can we do together to keep this school district in a position to offer a quality education that gives students the skills that they need to succeed in life and become productive, responsible citizens in the community at large? The time to get involved is now, when the budget proposal for 09-10 is being created. Please do not wait until a proposal is completed for board approval, be in on the process. This is what public education is about, it is why we have school boards, and it is part of our civic responsibility. We ALL need to take a deep breath, agree that we disagree, and look for common ground for the good of our children.
Emptynester - The budget is drawn up by the Superintendent then presented to the school board. The school board then has a reading over it, people are open to make comments and the board can vote for it or they can ask for changes in the budget. Goes along the same line as our current form of government.
Budgets are published for all to see and make comments at meetings about the budget. There are independent auditors who work on the books every year to certify the accounting. They must make a report to the state on the audit. During the year, the school board can make motions to amend the budget, like this year when they asked for reductions in costs.
Unless someone owns a 250k house and pays 5k plus in state income tax, the 200 per year tax doesn't add up and is not a valid number. And if one pays more than 5k in state, I guarantee the fed side and property tax on the 400k house they own isn't a big deal or at least shouldn't. 5k in state tax yields a 100 dollar tax bill and a 250 k house yields about a 55 dollar increase for a total of $155 not 200. I find it funny that again some post but make no attempt to provide their own REAL numbers or Facts here. The "poor" as some stae are effected worse. HOW? LCS is a public school and when the program is cut it effects all those enrolled. And if someone proves to me a program cut doesn't effect all then prove it don't just say it. I voted no the first time and yes the second and those that voted no can only blame themselves for programs cut that meant something to their specific needs. And yes open enrollment does play a factor in more or less funding depending on the parents, students, activities, and the specific wants of incoming potential students or even those that are here now. If a child or parent decides to leave for better programs be it spots, academics, or yes education we LOSE money. Dan Smith has come on these posts with an open mind, open ear, and his real name and that says alot about how things are going to change.
Until I stood with the ballot in my hand I wasn't sure how I was going to vote, but ultimately I decided that the children shouldn't have to suffer but instead the community should hold the administration and the school board accountable and that they do need to do a better job of making sure any money they do get is well spent. So I was surprised when the ISL was voted down but the community didn't change school board members when they had the opportunity.
I have a couple of questions for Dan Smith and a suggestion. The question is- who actually prepares the LCS budget each year- is it Dr. Wendt? Who is ultimately responsible for its passing- is the school board?
The suggestion is- put a panel together consisting of a school board member, someone from administration, a couple of teachers (maybe one from each school or one from elementary, middle & high schools), a couple of community members (from all income levels) and an accoutant or two to review the budget far enough in advance for the next year. Maybe they would be able to come up with ideas for fees for some programs or ways to cut that those too close to the problem do not see. If you would take volunteers and not hand pick them, maybe at the end of the process, if the ISL is still needed the community would listen.
There are other issues here that I was surprised no one brought up. Many teachers already pay out of their own pocket to outfit their classrooms and provide treats and incentives for the kids. Other people have brought up the age of some of the textbooks the kids have been using, some old and out of date. Maybe someone needs to make a list of the many small but significant things that could be paid for with the ISL if it had passed.
It would have also helped to have had either the administration or the board be more specific on the good that could have been done with the money rather than giving the impression that the community should give them a blank check.
I totally agree "NOTSOSTUPID." One of the main reasons I voted NO was because of the comments made by the school officials in the paper, to the kids, in the mailings, in parents meetings, etc, etc ETC!!
It was absolutely ridiculous.
And by the way, people, a NO vote doesn't mean that you hate kids or you want the school to close the doors.
I have been reading the comments on here and I would have to say that some have some very valid points - both yes and no voters. I voted NO just because I used the info on here and figured out how much it would cost me in taxes and I was up to over a 100.00 so far this year, so it will be over 200.00 by the end of the year. I consider myself the "average taxpayer" so all the quotes of it only costing the average taxpayer 53.00 a year seems very misleading to the people. And for my elderly parents on a VERY limited income, 53.00 a year is still alot of money to them. Also everyone in my office and that I work with also figured out their cost and it was still going to be close to 200.00 by the end of the year.
We are a 2 income family that does not live outside our means and still we scrape by every week. We have had to re-adjust our budget because of Wells cuts and etc., and no one is jumping to help us out or offering to pay some of my bills. I know the school is hurting and something has to be done, but i just couldn't vote Yes for more money coming out of my pocket that I just didn't have.
One other thing that has bothered me since this all started are the comments in the paper articles made by Dr. Stelzer and Mr. Murphy. Dr. Stelzer tries to make the No voters feel really guilty and kind of bad-mouths them. I feel like I'm punched in the face every time they comment. If they think it is so easy for the average taxpayer, why doesn't Dr. stelzer and Mr. Murphy (who have a way greater income than me) gladly open their pockets and help the school out? Why doesn't Dr. Wendt donate his raise to the school? He could live on what he made the year before, I am as I didn't get a raise this year because money is tight everywhere.
The funny thing here in the midst of all the uproar, is that life goes on. The the No vote came in & the universe didn't implode.
swimorsink,
I am not aware of anything currently being considered for cuts. We don't know what our enrollment will be until Oct. 1, so we won't know where we stand until then. I hope we are up 111 kids so we can forget this issue.
If this doesn't answer your question tell me where you need clarification.
I have to be away until about 10:00 PM, I'll check to see if you responded.
I have posted elsewhere and Scott is exactly right. And I commend him for posting his real name. Stop with the Gehlen vs Le Mars crap it does no good at all. As I stated before, I have coached kids from all sides of the tracks rich to poor==Gehlen to Le Mars in Little League Baseball and Softball and we all come tgether as a TEAM. And when the game is finished we all shake hands and are still friends. This is a community and I don't like maybe how things have come about, but it is still the kids were talking about. I changed my vote to yes for one reason and one only the kids. Budgets are tight all over and those who haved lived in this town for any length of time has realized we haven't had to use or implement this tax. Swimorsink move to any other town around here and you will pay the ISL tax and a bigger percentage. I just realized how good we have had it in this town for many years with this particualr tax. The i'm poor and penalized is getting old quick.
I'm A LCS Parent I Voted "NO" Stop Blaming Gehlen Parents ONLY!!!
Goodness what is this grade school again???
If your from there you're not cool, If you do that you're not cool, , If you have friends from there you're not cool, If you think for your self you're not cool, If you have a Different Opinion then everyone else you're not cool!!! Ect, Ect, Ect......
Look Old Clique: (If Your Friends Jump Off A Cliff Will You???)
Fact of the matter is I may have voted NO but it doesn't mean I am a bad person! Nor does it mean those who voted YES are bad people either!
We are all different in looks, manners, respect, personalities and so forth! Difference are what make a community not divide them!
p.s. The Part That Is Sad Is Allot Of LCS Parents, Students, Former Students On Here, Sound Like A Bunch Of Pretentious Snobs!!! (NOTE I DID NOT SAY ALL, I SAID ALLOT)I Don't See Gehlen Foke On Here Slandering Us LCS Parent and so forth....
GROW UP PEOPLE PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF OUR CHILDREN!!!!
TO boji5, so did any Gehlen vote YES?
Don't put this as a school vs. school issue. It is more than that. But if you choose to do that, then if all of the LCHS parents voted and all of the Gehlen parents voted - it wouldn't be an issue at all. But you have to remember that you had some LCHS parents voting no. It's your way of putting the blame where it doesn't belong.
Thank God cooler heads prevailed and resisted the scare tactics to not only increase our taxes but to add a new tax. (except now we have to put up with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Again!)
Next time I hope we can actually get the whole "no" vote out...I think we can.
The end of the world is not here, the sky is not falling and everything will be alright.
By the way...renters pay property tax indirectly through their landlord just as with any pass through business expense.
No I am not a renter..No I don't have kids in Gehlen and No I am not even Catholic.
TO boji5 :
So happens I am a business man, and talked to others they said the same thing. Our money will go to the school where our kids are at / or went. That school is the one that will get it. And for the statement about bugeting in for the year is bogus. If some do a budget "maybe all if it will go to LCHS".
red_hat
This IS NOT a Gehlen vs LeMars issue. I have read previous posts that have stated that LeMars parents would be voting no. It was not only Gehlen people who voted this down.
And as far as the comment about people not buying booster memberships, most of those businesses 'budget' that into their annual spending just like they do for advertising.
I just feel sad for all the kids. Its not teir fault that the adults in charge of their school system are STUPID!
How do you go from a 3 million-ish sur-plus to this???
Dream_It
Thank you.
redhat:
This isn't about Gehlen, they to will suffer and they know that. They pay their money to use our facilities as well as go to certain classes at Community, as one has stated. Don't use the blame game to make yourself feel better. The entire community will suffer no matter where they or their kids go to school. Let's stop thinking about ourselves and for once think about the people who will be affected by the issue at hand. Enough with blaming anyone and everyone but ourselves!
Why does this have to be a school against school issue redhat. If all the LCHS people would vote and all the GCHS people would vote it wouldn't be close. The problem is not all the LCHS people voted the way you would like them to vote. Don't hold it against the other school.
scott bixenman:
i agree with your assessment that these are difficult choices for difficult times. what seems apparent in the selection of cut programs is that lower income individuals are being hit hardest. there may not be a conspiracy, but the results are there. i happen to believe it was front-loaded, if not consciously than subliminally.
regardless, the cuts are classist. i highly doubt the school board and administration are looking for ways to hurt low income families, but their actions do hurt low income families.
i think your open enrollment theory is interesting. but who will leave if luxury extracurriculars are cut? those with money can supplement them privately. statistics show those with lower incomes are the least likely to open enroll so they likely wouldn't be leaving. plus, would those students leave for neighboring schools? even with cuts, lchs has manifold more programs than the smaller, neighboring schools (no offense to hinton, remsen, et al.; lchs simply has more resources.)
so i highly doubt a great flight from lchs would occur if other extracurricular programs were cut and programs meant to benefit children from lower income families were retained.
Maybe the people from Gehlen who fought this so much might want to realize alot of LeMars will no longer be donating to there booster clubs which they have for several years.
I have heard and read from others that complained about a certain Dr., Lawyer etc. on LCHS board. You have to realize it is not about them it is the kids. The kids are the ones who deserves the nice books, nice school.
Maybe the people from Gehlen who fought this so much might want to realize alot of LeMars will no longer be donating to there booster clubs which they have for several years.
I have heard and read from others that complained about a Dr., Lawyer etc. on LCHS board. You have to realize it is not about them it is the kids. The kids are the ones who deserves the nice books, nice school.
Maybe the people from Gehlen who fought this so much might want to realize alot of LeMars will no longer be donating to there booster clubs which they have for several years.
I have heard and read from others that complained about a Dr., Lawyer etc. on LCHS board. You have to realize it is not about them it is the kids. The kids are the ones who deserves the nice books, nice school.
Civil citizen:
You made a number of points that are worthy of a response.
First, while it is true that property taxes have gone up, it is not the result of any tax levied by the school district. Agricultural property, on the other hand, is taxed at only a fraction of its market value, despite record crop prices.
Second, you're right, it's not fair just to look at property owners for school funds when folks who rent send their children to LCS as well. That's why the ISL as proposed included a blend of property tax revenue as well as a surcharge on state income tax.
Third, you're also correct about the source of funds for the new buildings. The buildings themselves were purchased with "restricted" funds, but maintenance costs come out of the general fund. However, revenue generated by the rental of space in the new facility has offset, if not paid for, the additional maintenance costs.
Last, there is no conspiracy to cut certain programs just to "guilt" those who voted no or "stir up" those who voted yes. Those programs were cut after difficult deliberations. One might ask why extracurricular activities were not cut instead. I think the answer lies in competition for students in the age of open enrollment. Without extracurriculars, many students may be inclined to enroll in another district, which means the loss of even more revenue.
I know that these are difficult decisions in difficult times. But they also give us an opportunity to refocus our priorities and decide what really matters to our community. Just my two cents.
dream_it:
i agree with your idea of self-reflection first and foremost. those who sided on the 'yes' vote should question: did i give 100% (or even 50% or 25%) of the energy i could have to get out the vote? those who sided on the 'no' vote should question: is the outcome that we're seeing today what i wanted and, if not, what can i do to make sure negative energies are channeled to positive ways to help our students.
that said, when we elect people to positions of power, they need to be held accountable. i'm not blaming the rich. i am, however, dumbstruck how people with higher incomes in positions of power marginalized the lower income families and the programs on which they greatly benefit. if elected officials act in that manner, then they need to hear the gripes of their constituents.
i don't want to start warfare between lower and higher income families, but this vote shows the higher income officials have taken what was a cold war in lemars and made a blatant attack.
dan smith: i was encouraged by your postings on this website in the days leading to the vote. can we please get a comment on why programs aimed at lower income families are being positioned for the first round of cuts?
Eventually I honestly think that whoever it may be will pass the ISL tax, maybe it won't be passed in April, maybe it won't be right after that but evetually the community isn't going to have say in it and it will be taxed. But, good for whoever has to pass it, it needed to be passed but some 60% couldn't get out and vote they are probably the one's upset about it. I don't know what is wrong with this town constantly blaming the rich, the snoody, the poor, maybe look at yourselves in the mirror and see yourself, and blame yourself. I can sleep at night knowing that I did a good thing and voted YES yesterday. I too will try to do whatever it is possible to raise money for the school, as well as Gehlen, no one should have to suffer. I want my kids to one day have a good education and I want them to have the privledge of going to LCS.
To Civil Citizen -
Your statement is awesome! Perfectly put! I hope everyone takes a good long look at what you have to say and does their own research too. Because we all know that this isn't the last time we will be walking down this road.
the next step should be a frank discussion about low income families and how their interests were left behind by this school board and administration.
i hope and sincerely will pray that the school board doesn't chop the programs that most benefit those with lower incomes (pre-kindergarten programs, counseling, etc.).
honestly, lemars, we need to have a long discussion about how those with vested power largely neither come from lower income households nor represent the interests of lower income families.
the elephant in the room needs immediate attention. i've heard far too many disgusting jokes about white-collar kluckhohn, blue-collar franklin, and no-collar clark. so many in this town revel in the income stratification. whether joked about at the golf course or actualized in how this isl was presented, the discrimination against lower income families needs to stop. i think step one should be hammering the school board and administration's discrimination of lower income families.
please, let's admit the elephant is standing in front of us and confront it before it continues damaging our community.
First of all, it is our privilege to vote and we are all entitled to vote how we choose. NO ONE should be pointing fingers or blaming ANYONE ELSE for the way they chose to vote. Since when is it a crime to have a difference of OPINION?
I wonder how many people did their research on this before telling others their vote is wrong! I did a bit of research and here is what I found:
One commerical property I used as an example has had the property taxes increased more than 30% in five years while the assessed value has remained the same. WHY? Because funds are mismanaged and when they are depleted, they'll just tax us again. That's the all-purpose solution to every financial problem!
Property taxes are not figured for just residential property but also commerical and agricultural. So while everyone that voted yes was considering their small increase in taxes on one house, what about people that would have been looking at several hundreds or thousands of dollars?
How about this to consider...why are we only looking at property owners to help fund the schools? Why shouldn't ALL residents have to help. There are plenty of renters in this town that have children that attend our schools. Shouldn't they have to contribute? Just food for thought.
Why are we so for our local government raising our taxes when if Washington does it WE ALL AGREE it is WRONG! Government, whether federal, state or city has to do their job and manage a budget. The answer when money has run out is not to ask the people for more.
I have children in the LCS disctrict and recieved letters from the schools urging me to vote yes. I was quite offended by the letter because it failed to communicate the facts honestly. While the school can afford to buy buildings with appropriated funds, ALL of the overhead costs to maintain that building come out of the general funds which the school has run out of? It is reprehensible, in my opinion, to give the people half of the truth and attempt to sway them. Get rid of the politics and get real!
For all of the people that voted yes and want to be angry with those that voted no, why don't you get angry with the 60% of our community that didn't even bother to vote! For all of the people that want to see our school receive extra funds that they wouldn't even need if they'd stop careless spending and adhere to a budget, write them a check. Give them your money. Who's stopping you?
One last thing, some people really need to open their eyes to the games being played here. Recall the last time we did this...the school CHOSE to cut some of the most important and valuable programs PURPOSEFULLY to guilt those of us that voted no, to stir up those that voted yes. Here we are again. The "no's" have it. It's a blame game people. It's politics, politics, politics!!! WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!