Election 2007 is not so much about a plan, but about the very future of our district and community. The inflammatory rhetoric that has been tossed around has served to confuse the issues that our community faces. The plan has become bound up in personalities: of what use is this to the voters? Every person involved in putting together the current plan wants nothing but the best for the district. It's one thing to disagree with the plan and quite another to make snide remarks and personal attacks on these people. Where will this lead us?
The voters certainly do have a clear choice in this election. The choice really comes down to electing board members who have are willing to work for the future of the school district or board members who are not willing to make tough decisions. Whatever choice you make on Tuesday, please be sure that you have thought through the consequences for the entire district.
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4 comments:
I'd like to hear an answer on this. It was posted under Monte's closing comments.
New Voice said...
The only one who really seems about status quo, by that I mean keep ALL buildings, seems to be Becker. On the other hand, Bowen and Thiel are more of the "status quo candidates." In that I mean, they are forceing through a "concept" dependent upon the passing of a referendum they already know has no support. If the referendum does not pass, we are stuck with what we have now, status quo. After years of barking at others who question the quality of our kids' educations, Bowen and Thiel are now claiming our kids are not getting a good education. What changed except the price tag?
Neither Bowen nor Theil are claiming that our kids are not getting an excellent education- the record reflects that unless, like New Voice, you choose to completely ignore the actual statements made by candidates and continue, like Becker and Monte, to change stories when convenient and put words in others mouths to spread misinformation and confusion.
What Bowen and Theil ARE claiming, however, is that if we continue on the path we are on (which Becker and Monte would like to continue studying, never mind the fact that this plan, in one form or another, has been in the works for more than a decade now) there WILL be a gulf in the quality of education received by different individuals in our district and there WILL be a less than equitable system for educating ALL the children of Oshkosh.
OH THANK you so much Anonymous 9:45am... it is good to know there are a few intelligent people reading these blogs. The vast majority of people I know have nothing to do with these blogs so I have to continually remind myself that the small minority of posters do not represent the entire community.
You are correct without the savings from closing buildings there will be no choice but to cut programs and/or raise class sizes. Mr. Becker infers there are other ways but he neglects to inform that those "ways" require either agreement from the unions (perhaps he can start with the NTEA the union he supports so strongly and he can decimate their benefits and wages -- they all like him so much I'm sure they will fall in line) of course if you don't get the union's support then you go to arbitration that takes MANY months and is costly and the district could LOSE, then the union will get even more than the district wanted to offer and THEN how will he pay for all the buildings he insists we keep? How will he keep all the programs, and even ADD some back as he has promised? Where exactly will that money come from should the arbitrator side with the unions??? Why is it NO one asks Mr. Becker for that kind of information. Exactly where will he get the $10 Million to catch up on deferred maintenance and the $2 million extra for continued maintenance on ALL the buildings? His numbers are based on a wish and a prayer and a couple years, where will he get the money for NEXT year's budget deficit?
Not to mention if anyone was actually listening at ANY of the forums, I have said I would NOT go out to referendum for one question for $45 million, but you don't really want an answer you want to attack. I'm done, Anonymous 9:09 and New Voice, we all know that you would never vote for me no matter what my answers were.
I really hope this community is about facts, truth and information. If they would rather have misinformation, confusion and another 7-10 years of figuring this all out well, that is their choice. We shall see soon enough.
Just to clarify, it has been a long and frustrating day --- Anonymous 9:45 my comment in the previous post "I have said I would NOT go out to referendum for one question for $45 million, but you don't really want an answer you want to attack." was NOT directed at you but at the previous poster. Sorry for any confusion.
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