Let the carnage begin!!!! "Why did they cut so and so she's a a good teacher" "Why did the cut French (or other subject) my kids liked it" "Why doesn't the bus pick my kids up anymore?" "Why does it cost so much for activities?" "Why do my property values keep going down?"

I find it clearly amazing that we can't give our children what we had when we were growing up, opportunities for a good education. We as a community need to realise our future and it starts with education, not our pocket book. Our parents parents paid taxes on educaton and we need to pass that on as well for children and theirs. Another thing that i find amazing is we can't add money to our taxes for school, but adding on to the court house is justified, what is wrong with that picture.

I wish we had a supportive community for my kids to grow up in. If the community does not value education, why should I stay? I will find another town that likes it kids.

onamia schools. bus runs south of rum river campgrounds. active referendum..

"I will find another town that likes it kids." - Oh no... please don't go... (sarcastically written)

"but adding on to the court house is justified, what is wrong with that picture" - Nothing - looks fine to me.

"Our parents parents paid taxes on educaton..." - Yeah and I would LOVE to go back to those days when taxes were cheap and God was welcome in our schools.

This really is sad. For a very small amount of money every month, you could have ensured that students are actually able to learn. Now, class sizes will go up, quality of teachers will go down, activities will disappear, and the students in Milaca will begin to fall far behind. I hope each of the people who voted No knew what they were voting for, and they realize their mistake, throw their selfishness aside next time, and help stop the bleeding that will come as a result of this years failure.

Miracles do happen!

If you want a school bus or a quick walk to school MOVE TO THE CITIES!
I was shipped from one school district to another as a CITY kid, to help balance the ethnic equation. Bus loads of white kids brought to the inner city? It is no wonder I had bus issues as I had a 2 hour round trip on the bus!

I left the city as it is so much worse for your kids. Home schooling is even better than moving to the city. Figure a different plan if society follows a different path than you!

Your taxes will probably go down now because your property values will slide as the quality of the schools slide.

I guess I'll be able to say, "I went to Milaca High School back in the day when we had a football team and a marching band. If we wanted to, we could even learn a foreign language! And remember Mr or Ms. (Insert name), he was great." Now, that won't happen because teachers will come and go quickly, long standing teachers will be forced into retirement. This is terrible. Voting No didn't stand up to big government. If anything, this referendum was necessary because of Gov. Pawlenty's cuts to education. So TAKE THAT. Its a Republicans fault that taxes needed to be raised. And yes, this is political.

There is nothing stopping all the 1,161 Yes voters from donating their projected yearly tax increase. Can you imagine if all 1,161 give an average of $275? That's almost $320k in extra revenue for the school. Give. You were ready last night. Give.

Vote Yes Committee: Please mail out a donation envelope ASAP.

The town is dying and the towns people don't even have the sense to save it. If you can't support a school, there is no hope for business growth and unemployment will continue to climb. At one time graduates used to like to stay in town or at least come back after a few years away. That will no longer happen. I come back in the summers but the town is caught in a time trap. People complain about there own circumstances and then talk about how the town is drying up but they don't do anything to change the circumstances. There is a reason that the county is tops in the state in unemployment, it's because the people don't understand that in order to grow a town you need to invest in something. Instead they just hope that the town magically turns around on it's own. That is not going to happen. By the way, your property value just decreased by more then what the levy would have costed you. More foreclosures are on the way, and the town will continue to die a slow death.

No matter if this passed or not, would it have made a difference? Maybe for the first year.....then what about the next one??? Have a little faith and see what happens before jumping into such negativity.

How sad that people who can't afford more taxes are called selfish. We want the kids to have a good education, also. My taxes have gone up every year.

The WHOLE country is having to tighten belts and get along on less....why should
school districts be exempt. That $150.00 a year increase would pay for the gas for a month my wife uses to get to and from her job. By the way we have no children and couldn't afford them in this economy if we did! The SD needs to stop
begging and whining and make due just like every struggling business and household!

hmmm last time i checked this was a democratic state. I am a conservative and I voted yes. Hmmmm Mitch kind of blows that theory.

I had hoped to stay in the town I was proud to grow up in, to raise my children in the same amazing school system in which I was educated, and to watch and be part of a new and better overall attitude in our community. Sadly, I will now be forced to leave. As a direct result of this referendum, I will have to leave my family, my friends, my heritage and my community in order to find a district which supports our children and our teachers. Thank you to everyone who voted yes. I hope and pray that a true miracle will happen for the children of ISD 912.

I'm sure some of the same people that are posting "the school needs to cut back and the school needs to tighten its belt" will be the same people complaining about class size and loss of services and opportunities. I hope the paper can archive these discussions for us.

Someday... MAYBE people will think about the kids. They are the only ones that are going to get hurt. Thanks to all of you who voted NO!!!Thanks from my KIDS!!and me!!

My husband & I refinanced our home 9 months ago to lower our payment by $120 a month, have cut our budget everywhere, keep the thermostat at 62 degrees in winter to cut our fuel costs etc. etc. etc. We had to vote no or see our property taxes increase again, eating up most of our monthly payment decrease since the refinance. I agree that those of you who can afford it & are not living on severely limited and even declining incomes who voted yes should donate the cash to the school for those of us who can't survive under Pawlenty & his slashing dagger!!!!

To High School Parent-

Mitch was referring to the continued slashing of education at the hands of Tim Pawlenty and Republicans who have managed to slash the education budget and still are in a budget crisis. Good luck with the Presidency after devastating the Minnesota economy and causing crisis at the state, county, and city levels of your state. A job well done TPaw.

Here's an alarming chart-

http://www.mn2020.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={2379290F-06EC-4A44-87FC-BA2DC659E02C}&DE

Funding in the state has dropped by almost $1,500 per pupil under Pawlenty. Unfortunately for the people who did vote no, there property taxes will continue to go up. It's sad that people don't investigate these things and rely on facts before entering the polls, instead they think their own thoughts that any tax must be a bad thing despite the long range positive effects for the town.

For all who voted for or plan on voting for TPaw in the future, please read up on his history in Minnesota. He has been awful for the state in so many ways and is divisive with the Minnesota legislators. He would not last a second in Washington where they are much more cut throat and stubborn. What's done is done, but let's not make things worse. The State needs to turn this around just as much as the city and that starts with new leaders who are willing to invest in Education which should be one of the cornerstones of any state government.

Proud Milaca Alum,
Make a move to Becker, they passed their levies. Even passed a technology levy to purchase a laptop for each hs student. It's going to look pretty bleak around here. We'll be known for the smallest school and largest jail. The county doesn't have to ask for money to build a jail, and with not much for the kids to do they will probably need to add a juvenile facility as well. Run, Run, Run

I sure wish that the people who voted NO could have been at the Choir and Band concert held at the school last night (Wednesday). What a talented bunch of kids led by great and committed teachers. I fear that the music programs may be reduced as a result of this most recent NO vote..I am saddened to think that choir and band may no longer be available by the time my youngest child reaches high school.

the people in this community have voted year after year after year to not raise our taxes. at what point will the School District understand that the people in the community don't want our taxes raised. people say this is about kids but when you are talking about the very slim incomes we already have, you have to take a lot into consideration. some people are bashing the state for cutting budgets, they have to just like our city cut budgets. tighten the belt and move on. during the great depression did they ask the citizens to up their taxes? no, they worked together. Why should I fork out money that i don't have to help pay for some kid to be able to play football? i thought school was about learning and preparing them for further education? if kids are banking on their athletic abilities to get them into college, we have created a sad system. Knowledge is power, not football.
i agree with Veronica..those that voted yes should pony up their funds and help support the school like they want to and leave us No voters along. Put your money where your mouth is. perhaps you could have saved some funds and diverted them towards the school instead of mailing out stupid Yes information things and putting them into doors of homes.
I cut my budget at home and it is time for the school to do likewise.

Some people just don't get it. Those of us on fixed incomes or those facing the possibilty of losing a job (with a mortgage)and those who live paycheck to paycheck are hanging on to every dime. I haven't had anybody knocking on my door
offering to help pay my ever increasing health insurance premiums or my mortgage payments,gas and electric,dental bills, etc... There's no bailout money coming for us. I haven't seen any referendums to increase the standard of living on the poor and middle class. For a lot of people in this community it would be nice to have the $150.00 to $250 or whatever it comes out to be and be able to give it to a worthy cause The school district, at this point in time just doesn't make a lot of peoples priority list.

I find it interesting that so many of you are able to predict the future.

"Taxes will go up anyway...House values will go down...Class sizes will increase...People will move their children out of the school..."

Well good for you that you are able to "accurately" predict the outcome of this failed levy. Now maybe you could predict some real solutions for the school, like a better teacher's union negotiator who isn't biased, more shared roles to reduce unneeded positions, less paper waste, the list goes on and on.

We can make this work people.

"Another thing that i find amazing is we can't add money to our taxes for school, but adding on to the court house is justified, what is wrong with that picture." Who said adding on to the courthouse was justified? The difference is we didn't get to vote on the increased taxes for the courthouse and we DID for the school. I'm assured that if ML CO. residents had the choice of whether or not to spend money on the courthouse project, the vote would have been NO. Life will go on at Milaca Schools. Their "belts" will be tightened like many people in our stressed out economy. Milaca isn't the only school in MN in this position. Hopefully we have enough dedicated teachers, school board members, and administration that will make do with less. Maybe it's time to start looking at cutting bigger expenditures like ass't principals, laison officer, etc. instead of cutting peanuts to try and make ends meet. Milaca won't die. There is no big business here anyway and we're turning into a bedroom town. People will commute to jobs in the metro. and continue to have students attend Milaca school. The voting public has spoken. Let's quit complaining and move forward. Pull up your bootstraps, roll up your sleeves and do what has to be done!

Irony..."Your taxes will probably go down now because your property values will slide as the quality of the schools slide" Property taxes in ML Co. have NOT gone down even though due to the economy values have decreased. Taxes will continue to increase with school obligations, like OPEB and other needed expenses for the school that we DIDN'T have the chance to vote on. Taxes will increase due to the new court house annex which we also DIDN'T get to vote on. Where will it all end? We are all concerned about the children but there's so much more involved here than just the kids. Over the years the school has lost the trust of many taxpayers. Until that trust is regained, people will be hesitant to spend their money on things that the school has foolishly spent money on in the past such as land that's now just a liability.

Re:Mitch "I guess I'll be able to say, "I went to Milaca High School back in the day when we had a football team and a marching band." Have no fear. The football program will not be cut. While other towns such as Princeton have cut the marching band program, Milaca has not. Maybe John Q. Public sees that there are more cuts that can be made and aren't ready to have their taxes increased for the next 10 years had the referendum passed. Football seems more important than reading, writing and arithmetic nowadays. You can have a star football quarterback but he graduates without being able to read. That's where a lot of the NO votes are coming from!

the people in this community have voted year after year after year to not raise our taxes. at what point will the School District understand that the people in the community don't want our taxes raised. people say this is about kids but when you are talking about the very slim incomes we already have, you have to take a lot into consideration. some people are bashing the state for cutting budgets, they have to just like our city cut budgets. tighten the belt and move on. during the great depression did they ask the citizens to up their taxes? no, they worked together. Why should I fork out money that i don't have to help pay for some kid to be able to play football? i thought school was about learning and preparing them for further education? if kids are banking on their athletic abilities to get them into college, we have created a sad system. Knowledge is power, not football.
i agree with Veronica..those that voted yes should pony up their funds and help support the school like they want to and leave us No voters along. Put your money where your mouth is. perhaps you could have saved some funds and diverted them towards the school instead of mailing out stupid Yes information things and putting them into doors of homes.
I cut my budget at home and it is time for the school to do likewise.

If this levy will decrease property value then a lot of the state is in the same boat. I had no increase in pay this year and we are a single income family stretching what we have coming in now. I don’t think that they could get a big enough levy to give the kids today an education like we got 35 years ago. We didn’t have to pay extra then to be in extracurricular activities. Now everything seems to be extra and it’s not cheap. At what point do we say enough already? Where exactly is the money going? From what I see in the comments here, the schooling that people received didn’t sink in so maybe there needs to be a re-evaluation of what is being taught. Get the basics right.

The only thing this vote did was draw a line in the sand for those that can afford extra programs for their kids and those that can't. It was going to cost people 17.00 a month to make sure that EVERY kid had an equal opportunity to a good education and programs. I am a Milaca graduate. Because of Milaca schools I can read and yes, I can do math as well. Because of the education I got at Milaca schools, I went on to graduate from St. Cloud State University. If giving a check for $275.00 was an option, I would do it in a minute. Not for my kids, because I can afford to pay the extra fees we are all now going to see. I want EVERY kid to have the same opportunities that my kids have. I volunteer at the school every chance I get (Veronica, I don't believe we have ever met so I must not have seen you there and yet, you seem to be such an expert about the running of our schools) to fundraise or make sure that kids in this small community have every opportunity we as a community can give to them. I also teach religious education for one hour, once a week. I challenge everyone to do these things and tell me you don't have new respect for teachers and wonder how anyone could possibly keep 33 kids focused and learning. For those of you who say you couldn't afford the referendum, okay I understand that is truly the case for some people. That doesn't mean you can't be involved, volunteer at the school. Just like Pawlenty's promises not to raise taxes, the cost is going to get passed on to us somehow. Higher lunch costs, paying for busing, higher activity fees, or even worse, kids who have nothing to do after school but get into trouble. Yes Vote Committee, please DO send me that envelope, I'll be happy to pay for my kids, and for those people's kids who voted no.

Veronica:

Are you serious? I can barely type this as I am laughing so hard at your logic! You think that everyone voting yes should donate $275 and that would bring $320K to the district. Two questions:

1. Does $320,000 = $600,000? Apparently in your world it is
2. What about the following years?

You think that separation for those who voted yes and no would solve the problem. What about the money from the state? That is why it was so cheep! Everyone benefits from an educated youth.

Think things are bad at tank park now, wait until all the youth have nothing to do after school and before parents come home. Even if activities are not cut, the fees will be so high kids can not participate.

Get the WHOLE picture, please.

Hey...the situation is what it is. State finances have an impact on us here, for sure, but in this case....WHO VOTED IN THIS ELECTION? Milaca and its people who could give a rip about the school system.

Demographics
Thats all that needs to be said. Milaca is a dying town with little or no
future. These type of referendums will continue to fail while our neighbors
will continue growth.
Excample
Minnesota Median age 35.4 median income 55,802 per capita 29,027 house 213,600
Milaca median age 40.3 median income 33,702 per capita 22,721 house 144,935
Princeton median age 36.7 median income 40,924 per capita 22,679 house 153,813
Foley median age 33.0 median income 47,987 per capita 22,939 house 155,426
Cambridge age 38.5 income 41,029 per capita 25,531 house 171,795 (value)

Not a pretty picture is it
Dave MHS grad

I just want to say that in the last year, I lost my job. Fortunately, I was able to regain employment. However, I was forced to take a pay cut. To make things worse, hours were cut at my job on top of taking a pay cut. However, I voted YES on 11/3/09. Most people are probably wondering WHY???? Well, I will tell you why. BECAUSE IT WAS SO BADLY NEEDED FOR THE KIDS!!! I grew up in Milaca and attended school here from grades k-12, graduated and attended college. And to be perfectly honest, I received a great education while attending school in Milaca. These were the best times of my life. I grew up where we had things like drivers ed, marching band, foreign languages, and cheerleading. Unfortunately, there is no more drivers ed or cheerleading. Do you see a pattern here? Also, class rooms are only going to get bigger, teachers will be cut, and our paraeducators will only get stuck with more work when they are already overworked as it is. So Yes Veronica Chapp, let me know where I can send my $275 check! I know that the Milaca schools could probably use it more than I can right now.

Everytime the pro levy people don't get their way they start the name calling and insults. I have found that when they find themselves unable to answer or debate effectively they resort to the same tactics. You might as well beat your head against a brick wall,you might get further. Our standard of living is being consistently eroded away. We are in a "jobless recovery". Millions of jobs have been lost just in manufacturing in this country over the years. We are being brought down to the economic level of other countries. Our elected officials don't care about us. Hold onto everything you have and become as self sufficient as you can. Learn how to grow gardens, raise your own food, and preserve it. The children will be much better served learning the skills to survive with little money. The future is too uncertain to gamble that everything is always going to remain the same.

Why is it that all of you have so much to say but none of you have the guts to say who you are??????!!!!!!! Is it because you're afraid that you might get criticized for the name calling or maybe saying that people are nuts. That's slander. Grow up and have the courage to back up your opinions.

Hey, sounds like that Chapp gal has a good idea! The YES voters are already committing to sending in their money for the school. Take a good look at the idea Milaca board and adminstration. Might just get money when you least expect it!

To CHAPP IS NUTS!: If the referendum would have passed, the increased taxes would have stayed in effect for 10 years with inflation costs built into it. #320,000 for 10 years would add up! With so many people out of work nowadays, parents should be home more to monitor their childs after school activities and maybe they won't be hanging out at Trimble Park. And by the way, the word is cheap, not cheep. Maybe schools do need to concentrate more on writing than football?

I think the bottom line is that a lot of people are fed up with the way things are going and have little to no control over anything. Here is one thing that they can make an impact on and they have voted this way. I'm certain there will be an impact but why jump to conclusions, take a look at what can be done. I also doubt that there will be more kids getting into trouble because of this not passing. This shouldn't be affecting a child's behavior, if it is the parents better be sitting the child down and talking with them.

To Jeremy-

School is certainly about preparing kids for higher education or the job market. One thing that colleges look for is activity and participation in extra curricular activities. There have also been hundreds of studies that link GPA with involvement in extra curriculars. The more involved the higher the GPA. That's because being involved with extra things teaches kids time management skills and responsibility. These are things that are not gained in the classroom.

Not only that but think of the principal of having to cut activities for kids. These are things that have been given to kids all over the country going back to 1972 when Title IX was introduced. And we could be one of the first communities in the state to deprive kids of the opportunity to participate in something that they enjoy. I thought part of being in a community was working to make the future generations better off. I for one do not think the best way to do that is to deprive them of something they love. It says a lot about the town when it will be one of the first communities in the state to actually take away activities. I would be angry if I lived there. Fortunately, I'm an alum who can only help but feel sad for my friends that are still in the area.

I am extremely disappointed in this community. They have just sent the message to our kids that they are not important, that their future doesn't matter & that we generally just don't care about them. Well now the community will have more to complain about when the kids have nothing to do but run around causing trouble in the community, when home values slide down even further & when businesses leave or choose not to come (why should they if we can't support our kids). Maybe more of them should have read the newspapers & attended the meetings that were put in place before voting NO because obviously they don't have a clue!
Parents get out the checkbooks - higher lunches, higher sport fees (if they stay), required to supply more items, etc...it is all coming!
As for the person who sited the jail/courthouse add-ons, wake up people the school is not the county - they can't just decide to do it & hike your taxes, they need permission first, the county/state doesn't!
This community is obviously not willing to INVEST in our Children or their future, not willing to do the right thing! And unfortunately I may have to consider moving my kids to another school that will give them the attention & education that they deserve!!
Wake Up Milaca - this is not the way to make a positive change in our community!

to Jim
So being in class and having homework doesn't teach kids time management skills and responsibility. I would think that if the kids don't manage their time well, they won't get their homework done. If they don't do their homework, they are not being responsible and then they would fail (no child left behind means they move on). I think that parents can also teach their kids about responsibility.

If you and others are so concerned about activities, go to a school board meeting and talk to them about combining sports with other schools to save costs. Several schools do that now. I attended a school that had combined sports and we had no problem.

My problem is that I don't believe all options were explored prior to asking for this referendum. There are other means to obtain funds and I don't think the School Board did their job of exploring all options. They went with the one that took the least amount of effort. They have been doing this for the past 3 years. Time for the school board to stand and do some of their own work. They can take this opportunity to learn some time management skills and responsibility prior to the next election when they will probably come with another stupid referendum.

I would wager that most of the people voting No would vote that way regardless of the economic situation. I would also wager that a large portion of those voting now are old, have no children involved in the school and have not for years, so they see little value in the organization. Bottom line, and you can say whatever you want about Yes voters, your no vote impacts a student's future. If you honestly have no way to pay, I'm sorry, and you have a good reason for voting no. I would guess, however, that 90% of no voters have some expense (cigarettes, alcohol, pull-tabs, eating out, movie rentals, going to movies,etc) that they could cut out of their lives for the benefit of Milaca students. If you can't make that kind of sacrifice, who are you?

Wow, anyone else feel like they are reading a blog from a drama queen convention?
If you read some of these posts we should all put our homes on the market tomorrow while they still have some value.
Take a deep breath everyone.

Milaca Parent.."they can't just decide to do it & hike your taxes, they need permission first, the county/state doesn't!" You are incorrect. The school CAN and DID raise our taxes last fall WITHOUT our vote when they passed the OBEB bond spending and then again for repairs. It seemed to be done out of retaliation for the referendum not passing last year so watch it happen again. The school has threatened for years that activities will have to be cut. I'd like to see them actually make true their threats. "Maybe more of them should have read the newspapers & attended the meetings that were put in place before voting NO because obviously they don't have a clue!" Don't criticize. Some of us WERE informed and DID attend the meetings and still chose to vote NO!

Amen Jay Sikkink! Let's use the comments to find solutions instead of badmouthing yes or no voters. We are a community, and each person's needs should be considered...kids, parents, retired etc.... of all economic situations. Funding is needed, budgets adjusted etc... and the community has clearly stated multiple times they are not open to tax increases. That has probably happened for a number of reasons. Let's move on.

Has the option of having the kids get involved in enterprising and earning funds for school and activity expenses been thoroughly investigated? It would be a win/win...the kids learn and earn simultaneously.

I also like the idea of opening up a simple way for people within the community to make personal donations to the school district in whatever amounts they choose. Some will give more, some less, and some none. But whatever is given will be used by the school. And we need to trust that the board will spend it wisely. And they need to earn that trust by spending wisely and listening to the community.

We can work together to find solutions. Let's be a community that finds creative ways to solve an issue that seemingly aims to split us in half whenever a vote is needed.

And let's not see the issue on the voting table again for at least a few years. Let us and the school board listen to the community and find another way to fund the true needs of the kids.

Anybody have some positive ideas?

In all reality, this levy would have failed even in prosperous economic times. The current financial situation of people of this school district is poor, however, the arguments that it is all about money are just a smoke screen masking the real problem of this area. It is that we have no sense of what a supportive community is. I am a Yes, Yes voter. I also shop at Teals, eat at restaurants in town, hire local kids to babysit. My family also turned out to support the local farmer's market this summer. We bring our kids to events that are happening in the community. Last winter my kids had a blast with the "sleigh ride" through downtown, making stops at the museum, MAC, after my daughter cried when she was scared at seeing Santa Claus at Bremer Bank. The summer "Lemonade" Concerts at Rec Park were absolutely wonderful. Being part of a community means more to me than what the financial costs are. We do make sacrifices in our house, but we will never sacrifice our community. Tonight, my wife and I plan to go out for dinner, in Milaca, then go to the "center" of the community to see the High School Fall Play. Can my wife and I really afford to do this (especially since my wife lost her job this past spring) and pay a babysitter? No, but really can't afford not to.

Get ready to be hit up a lot of times to buy cookie dough.

Oh boy. I am so tired of all the put downs and slander against the school administrationa and the school board. The board members receive $35 for a meeting...if they even turn in a request for payment. that doesn't include all of the phone calls, studying, learning about the issues. Yes private schools do well. Guess what. The parents pay for their children's education, and so are usually very involved in thie education. Public schools take ALL students, and try to educate ALL students. We are required (mandated) to educate ALL students. That means we do not turn anyone away. The state and federal government doesn't pay for what they mandate. That means schools like Milaca pay about 1/2 million dollars to pay for special education out of the general fund that pays for ALL children. We don't want to not pay for all children, we would just like the state and fed gov't to pay, so that ALL children can learn. Wouldn't it be great if we could have 15-16 kids in a class instead of 30 or more. And don't tell me that you were in a class that size 30 years ago and that it was O.K. We teach have to teach different and more information than we ever had to learn when we were at school. We didn't have the discipline problems that we have know. Etc. Etc. Etc.

We lost this year. That means about $500,000 in more cuts next spring.
all htat we have left to cut is staff. That means more kids in elementary and less offerings in high school. Who knows how much more the next year and the next.

I am very tired of all of this. I have a year left on my term on the school board. Do you think you can do better? I ask you to start attending meetings and then about running next year. I won't run again. I can't do it anymore.
Linda Ramson, School Board Member 320-294-5228

People can beat each other over the heads with their moral superiority or you can look at the way the cost of health insurance has busted budgets across the country. Skyrocketing health insurance is bankrupting this country and people will sit and argue over the talking points the insurance industry has pumped into the media. It's time to focus on who is doing the fleecing here before the naked sheep all become equal opportunity peep-cicles.

Are there any current students reading these comments? Some of these posts seem to paint a picture that a student's life is irrevokably harmed if they don't get enough goodies paid for with other peoples' money. That notion is not only unhelpful to their education(!), it's wrong and can have long-lasting damaging effects (see: liberalism). The idea that we need 24/7 extracurriculars so kids don't hang out at the park and the idea that Milaca will soon become a smouldering crater if we have any further cutbacks are silly. In the old country schools kids often had one teacher for all grade levels and they fed wood into the stove to stay warm and brought their own lunch, sometimes a lard sandwich. (walking uphill both ways is just a myth, though, and not possible) This history lesson is for a little perspective. Those schools still managed to graduate fine citizens. It's not about dollars and cents, it's about common sense and doing the most with what you have without complaining. I'm afraid some adults are setting a pathetic example. My NO vote was only partially for economic considerations, it was a vote of no confidence for some of the leadership of our school and the fluff they peddle to us year after year (off-election years, anyway) and worse, what that indicates they're teaching (or not teaching) to students. -MHS grad (Kids, never let school get in the way of a good education)

Sure, I'll send my $275/year for 10 years. Excellent investment. As long as the No voters' kids are kept in separate classrooms and will not benefit from the Yes voters contributions.

Raise taxes for school...NO! Tired of working hard and getting no where. Why don't we raise taxes to bring in more commercial businesses to give Milaca people jobs. These businesses in turn will bring in more tax money, which can help pay for the school. This will help alleviate the every day taxpayer who is already burdened!

Re:WHERE DO I SEND MY CHECK: Don't forget.. not all voters have kids in school. What's your answer for that? I'm sure the school will be glad to have your money for 10 years. I think it's a good way for the school to raise money.

Monday morning. I just read waht I wrote Friday evening. Can you tell I was upset and tired? Too may typos and gramatical errors. Thanks for not writing a note here to tell me!

I am feeling less stressed out today, but still wish we could get some real ideas from everyone as to how to run the school with less money! And really, please come to the board room to hear discussions, we welcome you.
Linda Ramson

Citizens of Milaca,
We moved here a year ago because of the wonderful house, the easy commute to work, and the school district. Over the past ten years my wife and I had driven through Milaca many times on our way to St. Cloud and had always been amazed that the Milaca school parking lot was full almost every night. I remember us talking about how the schools (kids) must be the center of this community. So, after finding a house in the country outside town, my wife and I were more than willing to give the district the opportunity to educate our seven year old son.

Unfortunately, after one year at the elementary school we decided to send him to another district. Not because Milaca didn’t have the latest technology (like SmartBoards or laptops), not because of the class-size (his was 23), and not because of the test scores (no need to elaborate). No, the reason we sent our son (who is an average student) to a district half an hour away was not something that could be remedied with money. The reason for our transfer was a school culture that tolerated very low academic expectations.

Our son’s love for school has “come back to life” this year and he is working harder than ever, however my wife carries the burden of taking him to and from school every day. If the citizens of Milaca truly want to improve the schools, we must transform the schools by transforming the perspectives and expectations of our adults. Neither my wife nor I voted last week because to us, this is not about money. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to discuss further.

When did you graduate? It must have been in a different time than now. It IS about cost, that is the issue. If it isn't, then why are we blogging on a website that is only about ten years old? This was not available 15 years ago. Look at how education has changed just in that time period. There is your history lesson.

As for what the school is not teaching, what more do you want them to do? Look at the laws and things that are in place that govern what is taught. Back then, they had NO rules.

Guess what? The school is teaching kids for jobs that are not even created yet. How do you educate those kids for those jobs? They teach them to THINK and to learn. Continually learning, that is the key.

Demand the best education possible - While making your kids follow the rules and respect the teachers and other students.

I have read thru these - even the one in response to my own statement. While you are all entitled to your opinion I too am entitled to mine. And my comments are based solely on what I had heard from people after speaking to them in regards to the referendum both before & after the vote. As far as our taxes going up due to the Bond issue they cashed in - well all I can say is that they had to do something since the citizens don't want to support their kids and give them safe, proper learning spaces with the chance to be successful and get a quality education. It has to do with money certainly - money that is required to pay for the things that are required. Things like teachers, safe buildings/structures, educational materials, printing, electric, & support staff (ie: Paras, Custodians, Kitchen workers, etc) amoungst other things. They were not asking to build a new school or purchase some outrageous other items. They simply need the materials, building & staff in which to be able to teach our kids. However without the funding the building will suffer (there are already mold issues I've heard), the dedicated & quality teachers will look elsewhere, and so on. It is a slippery downward slope that this community has embarked upon. Without quality schools & activities the community will find their property values decline & begin to see more kids roaming town getting into trouble. I still am of the belief that we have told the kids of this community that they are not important by voting this down. I hope that people with think long & hard about what they have decided and I pray that they will see how important a quality, sufficiently funded school means to this community. It is not just the parents of this community that are responsible for these kids - it is the entire community!

Milaca parent... funding for the mold issues and other large repairs have been and will come in the form of increased taxes from bonds that we don't get to vote on. An example is the OPEB spending from last year. Yes the school will have to cut the budget but there WILL be a school in Milaca and the town of Milaca will NOT dry up and die. We will still have dedicated teachers. Property values have already declined due to the economy. It's not about a non caring community. Everyone is concerned about the children but there's other means to accomplish things than to raise taxes the for already-stretched-too-far budgets of taxpayers.

These days so many people are unemployed and aren't sure how they are going to feed their kids they need to keep every penney in their pockets to feed "those kids". We have to learn how to stay within our bugets maybe the schools should learn to stay in their bugets.

I’m tiered of being demonized and lectured to, for not wanting you to take more of my money to keep your children busy. By taking my money for your benefit makes you greedy. If you want your kids to play or sing or be cared for before or after school, pay for it your self, that’s your responsibility as a parent not mine. Or ask for donations.