Ely, Babbitt, Tower, Cook and Orr meet to discuss retaining community schools
Five cities. Five schools. One desire– to keep small town schools viable.
The five-city meeting in Tower Wednesday night brought representatives of Ely, Babbitt, Tower, Cook, and Orr together to talk about ways to cooperate to maintain quality education in the communities. At least two representatives from each city were present.
About 100 people, including parents, teachers, school staff, and community members filled the Tower Civic Center.
Meeting facilitator Nancy Larson kept the discussion on track, and the meeting developed several alternatives to explore. The cities of Tower, Ely, and Orr all committed to continuing the exploration process, while representatives from Cook and Babbitt were taking the matter back to their full city councils before making a final decision on future participation.
The city representatives agreed that they all share the desire to maintain a community school and they all understand that the future of their schools is in jeopardy. Ideas to be explored include the possible creation of a new school district, involving the five cities and surrounding areas, a consortium of charter schools, or a mix of traditional public and charter schools, similar to the model used in Cook County.
The desire for high quality education with the school at the center of a community, while acknowleding the economic realities of rural schools, was the issue on the table. Cities historically have no control over local school districts, but schools are the hearts of small communities, and without families, small communities cannot survive.
“We are asking questions tonight,” said Larson, “but not seeking answers. The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.”
Larson said those committed to the process must be willing to do their homework. She introduced three longer readings on small rural schools and education that are “must-reads.” Developing an action plan will include establishing a process, creating a shared vision and exploring possibilities. She said the team will bring in resources and experts, such as Joe Nathan from the Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute, as well as working to build support in the community and from school district and area legislators.
“No is not an acceptable word tonight,” she said. “We need to focus on the future, not the past...We can’t afford to engage in education as usual.”
Larson stressed that the solution was “not about buildings.” She urged the leaders to “think big and think broadly.”
Ely Mayor Roger Skraba noted that the area is linked economically.
“We can’t be separate anymore,” he said. “We all need to work together to bring back jobs.” Skraba also noted that joint community projects carry more clout at the legislature.
While officials from the five cities with schools were sitting at the table, Larson noted that this initiative would also grow to include surrounding townships and the Bois Forte Reservation.
Former Orr Mayor Dave Glowaski noted that all the five communities have tourism as a central resource.
“Sixty percent of the property in the Orr area is seasonal/recreational,” he said.
“The costs for education must be borne by everyone, not just the remaining 40 percent,” Skraba said.
“How many seasonal/recreational properties are there in Edina?” asked Glowaski, “Probably none.”
Changes in school funding put in place under the Ventura administration took the valuation from such seasonal and recreational property off the local school tax rolls. The shift in funding benefited suburban schools, while at the same time hurting rural and outstate districts.
Kathleen McQuillan, a community representative from Cook, noted that rural areas are essential to the urban economy.
“The urban areas have to play a part in supporting our infrastructure,” she said.
The record of the Cook Hospital, which brought in support from the surrounding townships to help fund additional services, was discussed as a possible model.
“The seasonal residents wanted an emergency room,” said Cook City Council member Karen Hollanitsch.
“Change is possible,” said Larson. “Why couldn’t a school be any different.”
Options
“I’m not ready to give up on our small schools,” said Marshall Helmberger, Timberjay publisher and a member of a Tower education task force.
“The school is important for every aspect of our communities’ lives. And we all benefit when the community down the road is healthy.”
Helmberger asked the group to start looking at education in a different way. This might include creating a new northern school district, or it might include looking at other alternatives like charter schools.
“Unless we start doing education a different way,” he said, “it might be just like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Glowaski noted that the district needed to determine why they were losing so many students to open enrollment and homeschooling.
“You have to sell your product,” he said. “Why aren’t they buying?”
Time to act
Tower City Clerk Tim Kotzian noted the importance of such discussions.
“We stand to lose the most,” he said. “We don’t talk about schools at city council. We talk about water and sewer, fire department and streets.”
Kotizan noted that our communities need to be prepared with a plan if theDec. 8 referendum fails.
“Think of the investment made in your city in the last 100 years. The public money, the businesses on Main Street, your homes and yards,” he said. “If your school closes down, you stand to lose all of it.”
McQuillan noted that people need to look at this as a time of change.
“There is a challenge in front of us,” she said. “We need to meet it. We are capable. I feel excited about this.”
Children are learning in different ways, noted McQuillan. “How do we get the system to catch up with our kids?” she asked.
“Who is willing to be the next Charlemagne Tower?” asked Larson. “We need new leaders. What can we explore for our communities?”
The discussion then shifted to take comments from the audience. There were questions about homeschoolers, frustration expressed that the school board has stated they will dissolve the district if the bond referendum doesn’t pass, remarks on the success of charter schools on the North Shore near Grand Marais, the realities of school finance, the promises and pitfalls of technology, and the need for our communities to work together.
Next step
The individual mayors and councils will be selecting community representatives over the next few weeks to serve on a leadership committee that will explore the various possibilities and make recommendations for possible action in the future.
I am extraordinary pleased with these initial steps our communities are taking to look forward on the issue and value of small schools and their contribution to our kids and communities. Nancy Larson is to be commended for her research and reading recommendations to residents and parents. Some of us have been working equally as hard, but until now, we had not developed the synergies necessary to merge our hard work with each other. There is a lot of data out there to be mined before we forward recommendations to the existing school board should the referendum fail. Hopefully, our community leaders will embrace others in their own school attendance areas as those people bring forward ideas others may not have considered. Anybody wishing to participate should be invited to participate in the process. I see a renewed freshness in the Orr attendance area since Joel Astleford has assumed the leadership role. I hope other communities will do the same as Joel as done for us. The best decisions come from bottoms up ideas.
It’s pretty obvious that a significant number of people in this group are actively working to defeat the referendum, so the notion that their efforts are simply an innocent back-up plan "in case the levy fails" is disingenuous to the point of being insulting to ones intelligence. I certainly hope that at some point these representatives come clean with their respective communities as to the incredibly perilous path down which this group is leading our children. Casting aside the 2142 plan for the promise of something better in our current financial situation is beyond a gamble, it’s simply reckless.
The fact of the matter is that if the levy fails we will all lose, and school children like those in the Orr attendance area may be some of the ones who get hurt the worst. If the levy fails up to four schools will be closing for the 2010-11 school year. No amount of collaborative thinking can change the fact that the district is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, and without a successful levy there will be no other option but to immediately close schools in an ugly emergency measure to stay solvent. Once this happens, the odds of passing future bond or operating levies are very slim.
The 2142 realignment plan might not be perfect, but it will prove to be our low cost option in the long term, and a vast improvement over the grim alternatives of emergency school closures and statutory operating debt. Vote yes!
Lonesome_Polecat,
I am only going to bring this up because I feel that you are not being fully truthful. My husband and I are from Tower-Soudan, we grew up and graduated from here. I have 2 older daughters who have graduated from Tower as well. I have supported ISD 2142 and their teachers since Tower-Soudan joined the St. Louis County Schools. When the teachers contracts were not being signed not only did I place a sign in my yard. I also went over and supported them when they would stand outside to bring attention to that fact. I have supported every single one of the past 3 referendum votes. I placed signs in my yard and campaigned to pass the referendum vote. You are trying to make the assertion that I want to destroy ISD 2142. Its just not true.
I pay taxes in the St. Louis County School district, do you? I am not so sure that you do. I ask you what is in this for you? Are you a teacher? Are you a spouse of a teacher? I get the feeling you are involved in the district job wise by listening to your slant on things. The fact is that whether this vote passes or not my child will not have a local school after the December 8th vote. My younger daughter will also lose her school at the same time as I will not put them 25 plus miles apart.
Do I think a better option is out there? Yes I do. I have been one of the few people who has gone to almost every single meeting, I have given ideas and asked for ISD 2142 and Johnson Controls to give us an option to INCLUDE the Tower-Soudan kids. ISD 2142 and Johnson Controls have chosen to ignore us. I play by the rules. Ask around, find out if my kids are well respected, ask anyone if my family is involved in the local education. I am quite sure you will find out exactly how much I value my childrens education. How much I am willing to sacrifice to allow my kids to get a good education. To make the assertion that I am trying to destroy my childs school? That is ludicrous.
I honestly would pay the higher taxes willingly for a local alternative. A local alternative is NOT 25 plus miles one way, it is not sending my kids down dangerous roads to a school where they will not be welcomed. I ask you this, what plans have been made to give our kids an identity when they close the Tower-Soudan schools? I can answer that. NONE! I have voted 3 times to pay higher taxes to support local schools and watched as three times the vote was shot down. I have been involed. I am a volunteer, a sports parent, a parent of honor students, etc. I have made ISD 2142 the educators of my 4 daughters. ISD 2142 has taken away my childrens ability to be educated in ISD 2142. I now am looking for an alternative school disrict to keep them getting a quality education. I will make sure they are educated in a school with a good educational record. That is what a good, involved parent does. I ask you this, have you gone to the State Of MN education website and checked on test scores? I think maybe you should. I will choose where to send my kids based on those scores. I am sorry to say the alternative presented by ISD 2142 does not fit that criteria.
Back to the most important question. Do you pay taxes in the ISD 2142 school district? If not then I ask why you should be telling us to increase our taxes to support schools in other towns. I truthfully would like to have a local education alternative, ISD 2142 stole that from me. I am now working to find a plan that includes my areas kids. Wouldnt you?
Green Tea, we'll get this worked out. Polecat is just trying to get under our skin. The attitude that the only viable solution is the one put forth by Johnson Controls and the School Board and it's administration. That's pretty closed minded. Had the school board engaged the communities in a manner which we ourselves are now undertaking, the bond referendum we might have been voting on might have been more acceptable. I see nothing wrong with the process we are now following and we must be making some progress...the school board, at least 6 of the 7, are getting nervous.
You need to be prepared for "dirty tricks" and character assassinations in these final days as we approach the election. Let us all, please focus on our mission of presenting a better plan to the board (if they will listen) after the election. Stay cool everybody and work hard.
Orrcountry and greentea,
The primary reason for my posts is to simply point out that the real enemy against us is not the 2142 school board, nor is it Johnson Controls. The real enemy is the fact that the district is really and truly BROKE and we simply have run out of time and options. Trust me when I say that if we had a year or two to plan and brainstorm and craft a plan that all towns could get behind and shout support from the rooftops I'd be right there with you, 110%. But that simply isn't the case. We don't have the funding to buy us time for much of anything. The district is burning through their meager savings at an alarming rate just to pay utility bills and make payroll. This is not rhetoric or scare tactics, and it doesn't matter who's at fault for the district's condition. Its simply the way it is. I'd encourage both of you not to take my word for it, but instead perform your own due diligence and draw your own conclusions.
Your choices, like it or not, are to either vote yes for a plan that you're personally not crazy about, but keeps the district intact for whatever changes we might want to make later; or you can vote no and its pretty much game over for the district, and our kids will truly suffer the consequences as the district implodes. There isn't a third choice I'm afraid.
I keep going back to my question polecat, do you live in isd 2142?
You keep saying how "we" need to vote yes, yet when I asked you if you are a resident of ISD 2142 you ignorred the question. I feel this is a fair question. It really does matter to many. I have to live with my vote. My children are impacted by the choice I make on December 8th. I am already making plans as to where they will be traveling to school next year. You see I have to make my plans, my children and their education matter to my husband and I. Today we had the veterans day program at school. I sat thinking, this will be my childrens last veterans program in Tower-Soudan. I am getting ready to volunteer for the book fair , once again this will be my last time working our book fair in Tower-Soudan. To you this vote means very little, to me? This vote means that our school is gone. The truth is whether I vote yes or no my children are without a school.
You stated you were at the meeting in Tower how do you think we felt when Ms. Novak said if we vote no the kids who were in the front row wouldn't graduate from cherry. Not the way to win a room over I would say. No matter how this vote goes my daughters will never graduate from Tower-Soudan. To have the gall to say that in a town who is being closed? All I can say is wow. Please don't expect me to vote to raise my taxes to support schools in other areas. That is really wrong. The facts are if ISD 2142 had listened to communities we wouldn't be in this mess. The board has thrown money hand over fist into a plan that ignores a large portion of their attendance area. They say they are broke yet were able to find over 1 million dollars to try to sell their plan. If they had worked on a plan with communities they wouldn't be losing ground like they are now. They would still have that 1 million dollars to keep going while they find a plan worth voting for.
Greentea,
For the record I've been a 2142 resident for nearly 30 years, I've graduated one child in 2142 and have another child still in school. When I say we, I mean all of us in the 2142 community. As a 2142 taxpayer and parent I'm a stakeholder who will be directly impacted by the outcome of the referendum.
It's pretty obvious that your support for the Tower-Soudan School is quite genuine, and I respect you for this.
Consider this: If the referendum passes, our District, warts and all, will remain financially strong and intact, and will allow us the opportunity to continue brainstorming and make changes. Our district has a process for making changes, and a well organized coalition of citizens is a force to be reckoned with. During the discussion in Tower a number of excellent ideas were brought out that clearly have merit, but we don't need to kill the district to make them happen.
If the levy fails, our district will basically go into bankruptcy. 2142 will be forced into a financial crisis mode, and they simply won't be able to listen to much in the way of ideas, good or otherwise. They will have to concern themselves with emergency measures like closing enough schools today to be able to pay the power bills next week. We'll look forward to 2 or 3 years of austerity and chaos, with dissolution of the district a likely outcome. I'm guessing levy failure and dissolution of 2142 may be the favored outcome for more than one the folks participating in the group last week, which is really a shame.
If I read your posts correctly you believe you are faced with two bad choices on December 8. But consider that a yes vote leaves the door open for making corrections and changes, and there are a lot us who clearly understand what you are saying and stand ready to help you. A no vote shuts the door on our ability to do much of anything but hang on for a harsh and bumpy ride.
I know you believe this a lousy deal for you. You didn't asked to be placed in this position, and neither did I. But at this point we need to turn off the noise and analytically weigh the options presented by either voting yes, or no.
Again Lonesome Polecat - are you a employed or your spouse employed by 2142 - answere the question!
polecat,
Thank you for letting us know that you too will be paying higher taxes if the vote passes. I wonder though will your child be told to get on a bus and go to a school where they are not even being planned for? Where there has been absolutely no plans to change identities to include them? Unless your child lives in the Tower-Soudan attendance area that is a no.
My daughters will be going to a new school next year. It just will not be where ISD 2142 told them to go.
Yes or No makes no difference. They are no longer going to have a school.
As I have stated before I now have to look at school test scores, I have to look at the educational benefits that a new school will offer. The choice ISD 2142 plans for my children is not even on the charts. The education offered at this school is not worth the travel time they would need to survive in order to get there.
When the Tower-Soudan school community members asked why we were ignorred we were told to shut up or we would get closed down completely.
My point is that we are going being closed down anyway. If the loss of students happens that the 80K survey the board had completed showed the school will lose over 1 million dollars per year just from Tower-Soudan students. The survey said over 70% of our students would leave the district. If the Tower-Soudan school loses 150 students you would multiply that by $9000 per pupil unit and that equals $1,350,000 per year. This is the loss per year. Explain how this will allow the Tower-Soudan attendance area to maintain a PreK thru 6? Also we have quite a few positions which will need to be maintained that as of right now are shared between High School and Elementary. Where will any cost savings happen? Add to that the extra costs associated with transporting the few who do choose the alternative being offered by ISD 2142 and now we have no costs savings associated with the closure of the Tower-Soudan High School. The Virginia, Mesabi East, Mt. Iron and Ely schools will see those students, they will come ahead. Not ISD 2142. I do not see any financial saving in the ISD 2142/ Johnson Control plan as it is presented. I am looking at this purely in a financial sense.
Ok then I add in the loss to areas and towns. I see devistation beyond finances. This plan is unworthy of passing as it sits. I speak as a parent who truely placed my heart in soul in my childs education. I made sacrifices and choices to allow them the small school atmosphere. My kids excel because we are able to be a part of their education. Having less class offering was a wash with my children because I worked with them, because I found other alternatives to make sure they were given more educational offerings. It is not the size of the class. It is the amount your child puts into their education that makes your childs educational experience. My daughters excel because they had teachers who were there for them. The teachers in the Tower-Soudan school know their names, they know when families are in trouble, when kids need an extra pat on the back, when kids need to hear that they are smart and can do it. Our teachers and kids have worked together on year books, on speeches, on math problems, on learning to read ONE on ONE. The teachers in Tower-Soudan will go that extra mile for anyone who asks. Is this the case in all of ISD 2142's schools? I do not know. I only know where they (my children) go to school. I only know where my kids test scores place them in comparrison to other ISD 2142 schools. I know that my youngest needed extra help and that her teacher was there to give that help. That when she felt "stupid" her teacher told her that everyone learns at their own pace. This year she looked at me and said see my teacher was right! I can read! I only know where they( my older daughters) are in college. They are both excelling because of what our teachers gave them. Classes are not just about book learning. Classes are about learning to accept differences and become a school family. School is where our children learn to be accepted by people who do not have to accept them.
I will be voting NO because I cannot bring myself to support a plan that ignores my children and my community. I will be voting NO and working to find a solution that INCLUDES my area in their plan. I understand that Cherry wants us to vote yes, hell they are being given the moon. I am sorry Ms. Novak, I cannot in all concience choose your kids over my own. You see I am my daughters' parent and I must protect them and fight for their futures.
For my family the right vote is NO. I stand by my decision. My children will be OK no matter what the outcome is, because I will make sure they go to a new school where they can excel. I am proud of my school, of my town. I will work with this group to find a solution to INCLUDE all areas. Every child matters. ISD 2142 used to use that in their literature. A school where everyone is someone.
Lets work together to find a solution to give us hope. I will be Voting NO to find a better solution. I will not give up.
I hope to see all of you at the Polls on December 8th. The truth is no matter how you decide to vote everyone should vote. Lets let the majority decide and whichever way the vote goes we can all move forward and let the chips fall where they may.
I am concerned that if the Cook school moved that the local video stores will suffer. Talking to students it is a common occurence for them to watch movies for days on end.
Please tell me how building a new school will help them - oh wait "NetFlix"!