I think everyone needs to count back from 10 and take a deep breath. The opposition group isn’t talking about keeping things the way they are or trying to destroy the district. We agree that changes need to be made. We have a very reasonable and respectful request on the table to take a step back and take a second look before we do major surgery and remove the schools out of our 3 communities in the north. We have millions of dollars of infrastructure invested in these towns and decades of planning and hard work has gone into keeping them viable. This talk about only being worried about business always gets me. If you cannot attract or keep businesses in your communities you will not be able to keep or attract families to attend the schools. The school district and business communities will fall or rise together but that is an entirely different debate for another time. I want to focus on taking a second look here. The decisions made now will without a doubt change the future of the entire area. Trusting the decisions made by a multibillion dollar Corporation like JCI interested mainly in their bottom line makes me very nervous as it should every citizen that lives in the region. It should at the very least constitute a second look. They may find that Johnson Controls was right but at least we’ll have looked at this thoroughly and had an independent unbiased review of the plans for the northern communities.
For the last year we have reviewed every single number that Johnson Controls used to calculate their current plan. It was looked at over and over again and they still just don’t make sense to a great deal of us. One big example of this is the Tower-Soudan school area. Tower has largest projected growth of any city north of Duluth excluding Hermantown according to Johnson Controls. They also say that Tower is 1 of only 2 schools in the enitire district that have projected student enrollment increases. They admit that their projections did not include the new Lake Vermilion State Park that projects an additional 400,000 annual visitors to our town each year, our 8 million dollar already funded harbor project that will allow direct boat access from Lake Vermilion to our downtown area, Polymet Mining and their 700-1000 fulltime jobs 15 miles down the road, the new multi-million dollar funded housing development on the Bois Forte reservation in Tower that has approx 60 families on a waiting list to move in when finished within 5 miles of Tower, the new Mesabi Nugget plant and their 300-500 full time jobs 15 about 18 miles away, and other large economic development plans on our agenda for the next year. So one of the many red flags is that instead of Johnson Controls saying Hey, Tower is a great risk to invest some of the referendum money into their K-12 because they already have projected economic and student growth and the other large development projects could really help attract additional students into their town and district in the near future. Instead, Johnson Controls says close the Tower 7-12 and its ok if the 114 students leave the district completely because we won’t need them. We wish they would stay but we have planned to lose them with a charter anyways so if they go out of the district 25 miles to Virginia/Ely it’s alright with us. 100 students out of the district is approximately 1 million dollars a year in revenue lost.
Wouldn’t we as reasonable people using common sense take places like Tower that Johnson Controls admits could really enhance the district’s enrollment numbers and invest some of our own tax money into that K12 considering those projects and projections? Tower already has the space in an exsisting building and 5 million dollars already planned for a remodeled K-6. So let’s as reasonable people take another million or so and enhance the existing K-12 area and keep those kids along with the approximate 1 million dollars in annual revenue in the district? It is a place in which you have the greatest chance to not only hold onto the current enrollment numbers but increase those numbers in the immediate future. Those numbers help bring in annual revenue to make the district stronger? More students into the district, as you already know, increase the annual revenue which in turn increases educational opportunities for our students throughout . In other words, Johnson Controls currently plans to lose 1 million dollars a year or more by planning the Tower High School students out of the district. Now add a little common sense here.. Im not Einstein but I do have a calculator. Wouldn’t it make more sense to invest 1-2 million in additional funds to the existing Tower 7-12 and turn the expected ( planned ) 1 million loss into a 1 million dollar annual revenue gain? It would take only a few years to repay the inital investment completly and return a net gain to the districts general fund each year. It is a 1 million dollar a year + difference in annual revenue than their current plan for Tower. Now add the growth that Johnson Controls expects for Tower in their own numbers and the other large projects I have listed above. Now that is real money that can go a long way in making the district strong and adding educational opportunities, buying books, lab equipment, etc,etc..
Now, I use Tower as an example I am a resident ( with 2 kids in 7th & 5th grade ) and know it well. The bottom line is that Tower has all of these major projects listed here in progress as we speak and is the clearest example of how Johnson Controls planning isn’t making sense to a lot of us. It’s the very reason that we wish to simply take a step back and take a second unbiased look from an independent agency with nothing to gain? It’s much too important to the future of our kid’s education as well as the very survival of our region. There is no room for error here so let’s be able to look back 20 years from now and make sure we can say that we looked at this thoroughly and completely taking every tool available to us to make the most informed decision possible. Reviewing any plan for a second time ALWAYS makes your plan stronger. We need to at the very least do that.
An excellent article, exactly what I've been saying for over a year now. Let's turn over every stone, study all ideas, and make sure the correct decision is made at the end of the day. What is wrong with a second opinion and the relatively short period of time it would take to obtain it? If we come up with something better that everyone can live with, great. If our study determines JCI was right, then we will have the confidence to know they were.
Swanymn,
I appreciate the time you've spent crafting your post, it is very thoughtful.
I'm not a Johnson Controls employee, but I'm growing weary from the conspiracy theory crowd saying the 2142 plan is simply a thinly disguised ploy by JCI to maximize fees. At the District's request these consultants presented a plethora of reorganization combinations and permutations for the Board and community members to process through a 3 year public vetting process. Change is often difficult and I suppose some find comfort in having a focus for anger. JCI makes a nice target for this angst, but its time, as you say, to take a deep breath and count to 10.
In the interest of quality education for my child I'm thoroughly convinced that reorganization for our district is long overdue, particularly as it relates to the attendance area of Cook ,Orr, Nett Lake, Crane Lake, and all the rural townships within this attendance area. Our kids have been getting the short end of the stick for far too long and they deserve much better.
Should the School Board consider minor plan changes that aren't at odds with overarching plan goals and time lines? Yes, I absolutely believe they should consider reasonable ideas. Unfortunately, the present climate for reasonable discussion has been poisoned for the last 3 months by hatemongers who preach nothing other that an ugly form of winner-take-all anarchy. In this climate there is no opportunity for trust, and no opportunity for thoughtful discussion. In this poisoned climate even good ideas will get drown out and trampled underfoot.
Swanymn, I think I understand what you are saying. I can only suggest that it's not too late. Avenues for reasonable, respectful discussions do exist with the 2142 School Board.
bearbait:
We have tried to have a dialogue with the school board. In fact, several members of our group had a cordial meeting with Supt. Rick and board member Gary Rantala earlier this week in Tower. The problem is, the discussion is entirely one-way. We talk with them, tell them our concerns and that we want to see the money reallocated to maintain community schools, and they nod their heads and do exactly what they want to do. You need to understand. Our communities are fighting for survival here, and when we see a board that sold this plan through misinformation and now continues to ignore every single thing we say to them, it is just inevitable that the atmosphere gets ugly at times.
I mean, other than simply bend over and let Darrell Bjerklie and Bob Larson plow our communities under, what would you suggest we do? I understand that you may not share our concerns about the economic impact of this plan, but i would suggest that those of us who are directly affected by it have, perhaps, a little better perspective on what we face. You say yourself that the board should consider reasonable ideas. What is that we want that is unreasonable? A second opinion that explores educational alternatives to see if it's possible to maintain community schools? Exploring a division of the district (that would by necessity need to demonstrate that both halves can be viable)? How many school districts do you know that have two separate parts, located as much as thirty miles apart? I think we can all agree, it's a pretty bizarre creation. If we could make two independent districts, there could be advantages for both sections. Is it unreasonable to ask the question?
And, please, don't fall for the "bigger is better" myth. Small schools can do an extraordinarily good job of educating kids. There are many examples of schools smaller than any of ours that are doing exactly that today. If our kids are getting the short end of the stick, as you say, it's only because they haven't been exposed to quality teachers and a educational system that sets high standards. Those are the keys to a solid education.
marshall, im still confused, why do you think that the survival of communities have anything to do with schools in town? ?
"This talk about only being worried about business always gets me. If you cannot attract or keep businesses in your communities you will not be able to keep or attract families to attend the schools." - swanymn
this gets at what ive been trying to say for weeks, and that is that the towns survival depends on the communities themselves doing the work to encourage economic growth and development... this brings families to the area because of jobs available... and more kids in the schools. people dont come here for the schools and remain here even if there are no jobs for the most part. people are having to go where the work is, and we arent doing them any favors by not getting creative and thinking of ways to bring business, and work to our areas. its our own fault, not the schools.
Marshall, quality education will always start with quality teachers, and from what I've seen our district is blessed with a lot of very good teachers. Given the right environment they'll be able to do so much more for our kids, imagine the possibilities!
I won't ever apologize for wanting the kind of quality education for my child that I had, or that kids just a few miles down the road in another school district are getting right now. Why does the opposition group want to settle for just "good enough" for our kids? I've heard this very quote of "good enough" from members of your very own opposition leadership. These leadership members do not have children of their own to worry about, nor do they worry about my child's education, but they damn sure worry about whether or not a school is within the city limits of their town.
Marshall, I'm heartbroken every time my child asks me why do kids kids in (fill in the blank) school get to take classes in (fill in the blank), but our school doesn't offer it. How do you answer a question like this to any satisfaction?
Marshall, you might have a wonderful dream of a small school utopia, and others might share your dream. I say terrific, I say go for it. 100%. But for those who don't share your dream, well, we're headed into a new direction. Join us if you wish, or not, but brother, don't try to hold us back.
yes, i agree bearbait... its so frustrating that a LOT of opposition dont have kids, and think the school is good enough. some people have "seen the light" - not being in the buildings for a couple years and going in now as adults and seeing that yes, we need to do something. ;0 its amazing. i think more often than not, the no people are accepting of the voting results and just looking for the conversations and fighting to be over. i know they are because i have heard them say so.
The man who looks for security, even in the mind, is like a man who would chop off his limbs in order to have artificial ones which will give him no pain or trouble. ~Henry Miller
we dont chop off 3 schools in our district just because a majority dont like the results that the WHOLE district voted for. ;)
yes, that does disrespect those of us who DO support it. because we are ONE district who voted for ONE plan. what an awesome description.
It is my opinion after reviewing all of Johnson Controls numbers and their plan over the last year we feel that it will fail to meet its own objectives. It can be shown point by point. This plan will not increase our children’s education at all. In fact, it will take the only chance we have to get this right and destroy the district but before it sinks we will build these 40 million dollar elephants with our tax dollars and we’ll all be stuck with 113 million dollars over the next 20 years. I don’t understand why you would trust your children’s future to a corporation that will make millions of dollars in profits by executing their “plan”. I showed you above just 1 example of how their “plan” could have invested 1-2 million more to Keep Tower a K-12 and it would be an ever increasing revenue generator for the district for years to come. It’s in their own data. You seem to forget that not one dime for this 113 million dollars is going to buy 1 book, 1 computer, 1 table or chair. In fact, not a penny of these millions goes to education at all. The change in our children’s education will come from a annual operating surplus and we feel that we can obtain the same savings while maintaining all 3 community schools given the chance. We are not guessing. Again, my Tower example is only one. There are many but we want to be able to show you how we can go a lot further in making our district stronger with a unbiased comprehensive plan that accomplishes the same savings promised by Johnson Controls and possibly more. I think our kids are worth a try to make sure we get this right. Why would you want to rush this through? Please don’t say they have been working on this for 3 years. It insults everyone’s intelligence that knows anything about this process. They were running operating levies over the last few years. Ask any community leader when they first got involved with this consolidation plan. You’ll find that it is pure propaganda but I’ll tell you one thing. The communities have been deeply involved over the last 8 or so months!
Look, If this unbiased independent report says that the Johnson Controls plan is the best solution after all we will be the first to thank you for the time to set our minds at ease and work harder than anyone else to make sure the transition is smooth and successful. All we ask for is a chance to make the plan stronger for the 3 communities up north by having a second review. Please respect our communities by allowing us this assurance. In the end I trust our communities to make the right decisions for our tax dollars and our children’s education. Not a corporation! We all have the same goals in the end.
Swanymn,
I am just curious where you have seen enrollment projections that JCI developed for "their" plan? I have seen projections done by Applied Insights but not JCI....
As it has been stated before JCI did not come up with the plan..
I am curious why you would think that a state park or harbor would increase the number of students you will have in your school?
As for the Polymet and Mesabi Nugget, if they do happen, wouldn't you think a great deal of those jobs would be taken by people that are unemployed in the area/out of the area or possibly people that already have a job that they were forced to take just to stay in the area? Mining jobs are usually known to pay decent wages and I am assuming there are a lot of people on the range in general that have experience and would be willing to drive from their current home. I am not saying Tower wouldn't get more kids if they come, but to imply that all of a sudden there will be a huge influx of new families to your area I think would be unlikely. That is if these projects happen.
I am also curious as to who would do the two studies that have been talked about and who would fund these studies?
Marshall,
My only question for you is if Orr's population is expected to keep declining in the future how will the schools of Cook and Tower respond as fellow schools in a district? What would happen if what the projections are right and the numbers get so low that it isn't feaseable to opperate a school anymore? Would the two schools be willing to cut what it takes to keep Orr afloat? Also, we have heard quite a bit about townships like Greenwood and their taxes, do you think they would be willing to pay more than 55 dollars because now there is only 3 schools in the district or is there an agreement out there? Something just seems off here...
I think you are also forgetting there are still 700 people between Cook, Orr and Tower that voted yes for the plan.
Shooter:
A couple things. First, when folks refer to the Johnson Controls enrollment projections, they are referring to the projections completed under the JCI contract. It's true that JCI subcontracted some of the work, but people are using JCI as shorthand for all of the work done under their contract. That's just a matter of clarification.
As for Orr, while the Orr area's birth rate projections are low, they do not include the Nett Lake area, which has seen the most growth of any community in NE Minnesota in recent years. While these students don't attend in Orr in the elementary grades, they do in the secondary, and that is one reason that Orr's total enrollment has been holding steady, and even growing. In the secondary, Orr has more students now than Cherry and almost as many as Cook and AlBrook. The elementary grades in Orr are pretty limited, but because the school uses multi-age classrooms already, it's not really a financial challenge. As far as I'm aware, they only have four elementary teachers. It just doesn't cost much to run an elementary school with just four teachers. While some people don't like multi-age classes, they've been used for centuries, and when handled properly, they can be just as effective as single-aged classes.
Tower-Soudan has a significant amount of potential for enrollment growth. JCI calculated brith rate projections for the seven sites and Tower-Soudan's showed the most growth. And those projections did not include the major housing initiative now underway on the Vermilionn Reservation. That will bring dozens of families to the area over the next few years. If we have K-12 educational opportunities in Tower, many will opt to attend there. We fear most will go to Virginia otherwise.
Our job of attracting new students hasn't been made any easier by folks who support the plan. Keep in mind, that your side has sold this plan, in part, by arguing that students in our district are being shortchanged. That our small schools don't offer adequate educational opportunity. That's a dangerous message for ISD 2142. Keep in mind, this plan does little to increase enrollment in schools like Cherry and Babbitt, so for people who buy into the "bigger is better" myth, how does the JCI plan actually deliver what is promised?
One final thing, Shooter. You note that there were 700 people in the Cook, Tower, and Orr areas voted yes. But over 2,100 people voted no. Don't we count at all? Are you suggesting that voters in AlBrook, many of whom couldn't find Orr, Cook, or Tower on a map, should be the ones to decide what happens in our communities? See, I just don't accept that. Farmers in Freeborn County (on the Iowa border) don't decide the future of schools in Bloomington, but that's exactly the reality that we face in this bizarre school district.
Marshall,
Regarding your comments that split level grades are just hunky-dory, it's been my observation as a parent that the younger the children are, the poorer a split level grade works. In the youngest grades children make quantum leaps in maturity from year-to year, so the difference from grade K to grade 2 or 3 is colossal. In upper levels of High School mixing age classes isn't nearly as big of a deal.
Does 2142 sometimes split elementary classes to get by in a pinch? Yes, they do. Do teachers work their butts off to make split level grades work as well as possible? Yes, they do. Should 2142 continue split elementary classes if a better alternative exists? Nope. To do so would get us back into the realm of "just good enough". These children deserve better.
Rather that draw your conclusions from a book it would do you a world of good to meet with teachers and parents of the youngest students and get their input.
Shooter,
Those are the types of questions that are going to accomplish our mutual goals, Thanks! First off our new 3000 acre state park on the shores of beautiful Lake Vermilion and 8 million dollar harbor project that begins construction this spring creating direct access from the lake to our downtown area would be a major win for any town or region. We can develop marketing strategies that use those and other projects happening in tandem to go out and reach into Hibbing, Virginia, and even Duluth and attract business to Tower. Inventory, Incentives, marketing, and follow through. We will create incentives and marketing that will bring families to town and increase student enrollment. The district should be bending over backwards to help us their greatest potential of increasing students from out of the area into 2142 but they are doing the opposite. Closing the 7-12 in Tower is closing an opportunity to generate revenue for a better education for all in this district.
Another way that it will help increase student enrollment is that the state park estimates 400k of additional annual visitors a year. This with the harbor alone even if we had half of those annual projected visitors at a 100-200K range it’s enough to create a large additional demand for services. It will create opportunities for developers to build Fast food, lodging, and other related businesses each bringing with them owners/employees and their families to the area from the outside to attend our 2142 school in Tower.
Now regarding Polymet Mining and Mesabi Nugget you have a good point in that they may just commute from their current locations but we will try and market to those families as well. We already have a huge demand for housing in the new multimillion dollar housing development on the Vermilion reservation 5 miles from Tower in which they have a waiting list but marketing to these Polymet and Mesabi Nugget families to live near beautiful Lake Vermilion could create even more demand. The 2 will also Increase our demand for services and a 7-12 in Tower even more. It’s just your basic economic circle but the kicker is that we are about to have all of these major developments ( all of which by themselves are huge) happen in the next 1-2 years. I’m sure any city anywhere would hope to have just one taking place in the near future. We just happen to have them all happening right now. It’s my opinion that all of this will lead to a large increase in student enrollment in our 7-12 if it’s still there. Planning to take our school during these developments is a major red flag that this plan “as is” will do more damage than help, Especially in Tower but really for the entire plan itself. The events in Tower have such great potential to really drive revenue for the district in the very near future to actually use to buy books, Lab equipment, & computers increasing electives and opening other educational opportunities.
I really do believe that all of our communities have been driven to the edge of the cliff and are looking over. It has most certainly woken people up and I know Tower, as well as, Cook and Orr will make increasing school enrollment the cornerstone of all of their future economic development. Now we just have to open an opportunity to show everyone how by stepping back and taking a second look up north. We all need to trust us and not a corporation to do the right thing for our families and communities.
Marshall,
That is exactly what I am trying to say, don't the 700 that voted for the plan matter. The plan passed. One shouldn't have to worry about the the educational benifits that this plan will bring being taken away by what if's and let's just sees.
So let me get this right, we are supposed to assume that Nett Lake will send their kids to Orr if there is a district with just the three schools, but we are not to assume that they will send their kids to the new school.
So back to my question how much will Tower be willing to cut from education to save Orr's community school if their enrollment continues to drop?
Wake up everyone, can't you see the writing on the wall?
I’ve been reading through these blogs again and the best comparison I can come to is a baseball game. Some don’t know a baseball game has been scheduled, some are on first or second, and some are about to be tagged between 3rd and home wondering what to do now. The rest are watching replays from home. The critics are in the press box saying what a lousy game it was. This game has been over and done with for a long time.
As I see this, the school board has politely communicated that the plan will continue as voted upon and they will take everyone’s considerations into account within the basic limitations of the plan. The relevant authorities in the Twin Cities have affirmed this during Marshall’s visit with them. He and the small Tower group are likely still nursing their back sides. I’m not sure who made these folks masters of the universe but if it makes you feel better please indulge. There will be no significant change to the reorganization plan as it now stands.
Change has occurred, how each individual deals with it is up to them as it relates to their perception of reality. I haven’t been amazed by anything I’ve read so far even by some of these no people who know better, some don’t know any better.
What I do know is that there are building plans to be tweaked and reviewed so that the best possible result can happen in regards to our children’s education. This reorganization is happening; if the no group would like to be included please join in as some of your suggestions may improve the end result. If you choose to continue to argue that is your choice, I don’t care to be included in that delusion. Don’t complain when you didn’t provide input that may improve the educational possibilities. Know that as supporters, we will be there every step of the way to assist you in this change of reality.
Change is happening, and whether you choose to be involved or not is up to you. Tower citizens, it is time to get involved now as the remodeled K-6 plans will be done shortly when the plans come up for review. If you choose to let a few speak for you, accept those results or do something to benefit this community long term. Get involved and don’t let these folks bully you, your voice is just as important. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.
Best wishes.
Swanymn, you nailed it! As far as ghost TyIndeed is concerned, this isn't baseball, this is life. It's never over. The proud citiizens of Tower-Soudan and surrounding areas have always been involved, and will continue to be long after you have lost your balls & bat.
2142 needs to reconsider their options in the north. If not, face the total collapse of the district as we know it. We all make choices in this life, what's yours?
Tim Kotzian
9240 Rivers Road
Tower,MN 55790
218-753-5416
email: kotzian@citlink.net
pppp
This is all just a part of the grieving process...it is just a part of the Opposition realizing that they are a dollar short and a day late....So many people were playing Ostrich and sticking their heads in the ground for the past 30 years. There is no way that the district could have kept all the schools open forever...if what the Opps say is true about their schools then I believe that same argument could be made for reopening Gheen, Togo, Greaney, Silverdale and Alango and any other school that has been closed in this area. If bussing is the problem then shouldn't Crane Lake deserve a school Or Ash River?
I recently read about the 34 schools that were on the list to either be reorganized or closed because they are not meeting the guidelines of the Federal government. Orr was on the list. So if we don't reorganize anyway, they may just close Orr down without a vote..
And for the person who said our kids are not getting substandard education...you are not correct. They are NOT getting the best education they can get and that other Minnesota districts are giving kids. I know this from personal experience. So please could you quit using this as an example to keep everything the same. Year after year Orr and Cook have discontinued programs, forcing teachers to go back to school to re-educate themselves into another department just so they have a job. Where do you think the teachers of Shop and Home Ec.,and Business classes have gone? And NO BAND in Cook, the biggest school in the district? Utterly ridiculous....
Either way the opposition needs to heal and grieve in order to realize that the best plan has been approved. NOW don't do what you have been doing for 30 years and stick you head in the sand, which got us to where we are now, instead be productive and helpful in making this transition...
Whitedahlias:
First of all, if I were to worry about this 30 years ago. I would have been 13 years old, what did you expcet us to do as kids in the school. You stated we had our heads in the sand, think before yoy speak. And 30 years ago, when I was in High School we had alot of students. I graduated with a class of 32 students. But i suppose that was still not enough students for you. The Tower-Soudan school did not need to consolidate, but to get rid of Mr. Jurkovich, they did it. Now look where we are today. The point that I am trying to make is that you simply need to watch what you say concening the citizens of this area. We know that our school needs a change, and we have been at the top of the cliff and looked over, But the change that the school board has given to us, is not a quality education for students. I don't beleive that students can get that if they are in a school 30 miles away. What if the student needs to stay after to have help with an assignment. then what. Then the student waits, and waits, and waits for their parents or for a ride to come and pick them up. Is that what you call a quality education? I know I don't.
swanymn you disrespect my child when you think that its acceptable to wait for improvements in education.
i agree with shooter; people are HURTING and im going to be willing to put money on the fact that MANY of those unemployed people in the area will snatch up those jobs before there is any huge influx of population in any of our areas. we have to be to work first.
marshall: wait wait wait, you think its OK TO HAVE MIXED ELEMENTARY CLASSES??? what is this? 1910?? one room schoolhouses are NOT the ideal situation. we have been FORCED into this, we arent doing mixed classes because they are the best. kids these days have so many more needs and so many more things they HAVE to learn. its not just readin writin and arithmetic anymore. and again, you prove how much you really dont get about schools these days. i really dont think you are seeing this. i remember when i was in school and we HAD 6 elementary classes and teachers for each class, and there was STILL a huge disparity between the kids who were ahead and the kids who were behind. isnt that enough to deal with in one classroom without having TWO GRADES in the room!??! come off it marshall. you are smarter than to think that its ok to continue with mixed classes in our present day world. arent you??
word has it that a bus to virginia was offered to an area in tower, and the bus was turned down. hows that for a sign they arent going to just jump ship to virginia?
our kids ARE being shortchanged, and we dont have to be saying it for other school districts to know that. heres a news flash: THEY ALREADY KNOW!!!! if they didnt how on earth do they think that they manage to think they can spend money on fliers to attract students from our district if they didnt KNOW that our education isnt as good as theirs. kids as far away as SOUTHERN MINNESOTA know about our district and that it does NOT offer the same education as they do. people arent stupid, they are well aware of what things are like here, and even when they do move here, they know to move where they can send their kids elsewhere. not in every case, but in many.
THESE SCHOOLS ARE NOT GOING TO BE BIG MARSHALL. WE WILL STILL BE SMALL SCHOOLS, WE WILL STILL MAINTAIN THE SAME FAMILY ATMOSPHERE. you seem afraid that in one second we are going to become a school with senior classes of 500 or something. chill. we are still going to be drastically small, no matter what. but too small cant even pay a teacher!!!
and im going to hit you again on your 700 yes 2100 no idea. you should look back at election results for bush in 2000. ill make it easy for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2000
the point i keep trying to make is this: just because 20 states did not get their electoral votes for bush doesnt mean that they freak out and try to stop the election and review it for 12-18 months leaving things in a state of limbo. you are being outright rediculous. i dont care if you like the district and its boundaries or not. (must we again remind you, tower was graciously accepted into what would become 2142 during tower's own financial distress... if tower didnt like the boundaries, it coulda just vanished into thin air then instead of becoming a part of the rest of us)
the way it works is that people vote, and the majority rules (no matter how that majority looks!!!) i dont care if the majority in one area didnt support it. we are ONE DISTRICT who voted for ONE PLAN AS A WHOLE IN ITS ENTIRETY. just as we vote for ONE PRESIDENT to run ONE COUNTRY even though there are many states involved. half the country doesnt have a drama fest because they dont like the president. we accept it and we move on. just because alaska went bush and minnesota went gore doesnt mean that gore won, in the same way as just because albrook went yes and tower went no doesnt mean that we have to stop our progress and our work. now, if the yes votes were 0 in the north it wouldnt have passed, and we would look drastically different.
man, i thought i was clueless and a bit loose of the details, but you are just getting more and more irrational. or maybe illogical?
swanymn, im confused. arent you guys all over the idea that if the school leaves your town that your town will die??? wait wait wait, and now you are saying you are going to be doing thigns to attract people to your town??? what the heck does the school have to do with that? you know, anyone coming from hibbing, virginia nad duluth are going to take one look at the tower school and they are going to go to virginia or just stay in hibbing virginia and duluth. they have far and above better opportunities for their kids, why would they want to send their kids to schools where those opportunities are at the least cut in half!?!? you make my head spin. in one breath your town is going to die, and on the other you are doing all this to increase it.... what?!
and im sorry, tourists arent going to have much of an effect on schools. for the most part people vacation here because they DONT live here, and driving by the tower school isnt going to make them go "oooo we should move here and send our kids THERE". sorry. it just aint gonna happen.
do you have people signed up for the housing? do you knwo where they are coming from? perhaps you are going to get people who are under water with their mortgages and they are just looking for a way out. or people who are living with parents who find a way out. i dont know about the idea that just because you are building housing that the same number of people will have to move to the area to live in it. duh. there are people right in our own towns who dont have homes or are under water or living with someone else.
i second the question posed by shooter: how much will Tower be willing to cut from education to save Orr's community school if their enrollment continues to drop?
come on marshall. how much are you willing to chop off of your son's educational opportunities so that we can keep us all going? how prepared does a kid need to be for college anyway? i mean, they can just take an extra year in college to RETAKE classes they should have had in high school because they werent offered anymore. what are you thinking? i just dont get your logic.
lol. i cant believe that anyone thinks so highly of themselves that they think that 2100 people in the north (and quickly SHRINKING mind you because most people can accept a vote result) can upend the district. it might be a rough few years, but im willing to bet that in a few years we wont even remember these conversations. and im betting marshall will delete them too for fear of tarnish.
lol. mtddew5862: boy, just because YOU were 13 doesnt mean everyone was. but those same people are sitting around complaining about this plan when they havent paid attention for decades. we arent talking about HUGE schools here. for crying out loud, cook had, what, 50 kids in their sr class 10 years ago? maybe 60 ? thats not huge. 500 is huge. what what you say - you just blamed a district decision on getting rid of someone?? wow. thats amazing.
hahahahhahahahahhahhhahhaah and i quote "I don't beleive that students can get that if they are in a school 30 miles away."
i literally fell off my chair when you said that. do you have a map??? can you calculate how many miles kabetogema is from orr? crane lake? ash river? sure, it might just barely hit the 30 mark or less, but you have GOT to be kidding me when you sit there complaining about NOW having to drive a distance to school, when there have been kids going that comparable distance for DECADES!!!!!! and one of them i know VERY WELL from kab is COMPLETELY for the plan.
if you would go to a building meeting, you will see they are not just planning things for during school but after school as well. with more funds available, perhaps we can run bus/vans after activities. those kinds of things dont make or break a plan. and come off it; how many parents leave their kids their NOW for sports or other misc reasons including just not bothering to go pick them up? people talk to friends or other people, they get rides, whatever. those things will work themselves out. students wont just be waiting, they will have availability to tutoring, mentoring, after school programming all which cant be afforded when we cant even keep teachers for each class right now.
wow. the absolute lack of logic is amazing.
I agree with you flowersofmn... You have a complete lack of any logic whatsoever... The current plan doesnt call for improving education at all. It spends 113 million dollars to build new buildings only while throwing out 150-200 students from the district. I thought you may have been for studying how to actually improve education in the district with an independant and unbiased study focusing on education in small schools? Only that is logical...
hey, its your PERCEPTION that students are being thrown out.
i repeat, where was tower when there was a plan on the table to give tower babbit a NEW school??? you werent there to support it and fight for it, so out it went. you could have had something. you lost.