Madison schools get a snow day today, but the Madison Central bond election is still on. Vote today at the Madison City Armory downtown. At the moment, more snow is falling, and it's bejeepers cold. Driving to town to vote is worth it, but be careful.
I voted yesterday, just in case I couldn't make it today. Contrary to the urgings of people I deeply respect, I voted No. Here's my final list of why I recommend you do the same:
- Dennis Daugaard's very possible 10% cut to K-12 state aid requires that we wait to see how much we'll have to raise in taxes just to keep the doors open before we buy new doors.
- Supporters have claimed that we need to accept that we need to compromise. O.K. Let's compromise. The plan before us is the first-draft wish list from the architect and school board. Let's turn this plan down and build a better, cheaper Plan B.
- The school has sold this plan as the only way we can renovate the high school. Yet in an effort to encourage a yes vote, Superintendent Schaefer announced last week that we may be able to save $580,000 by moving the bus barn to a new site. If we can find those savings, we can find more.
- The school also claims it has $420,000 in private donations lined up to lower the tax burden on this project. The donors' names and conditions for use of their money (naming rights?) have not been published. We have the right to know all funding sources for a public project and what rules we might have to follow to get that money.
- Savings and donations are great, but the pending bond issue still authorizes $16.98 million in public expenditures. Today's vote does not enforce the savings the school claims it can get. Let's line up all the savings and private money up front, then return with a bond issue that authorizes the remaining expenditures and not one penny more.
- The plan spends more money on a luxury gym with 2500 seats than on any other specific academic improvement. Let's rejigger the plan to prioritize academics and architectural necessities.
- The school says the gym costs $2.9 million. The 2007 proposal to build a very similar facility would have cost $5.8 million. Something doesn't add up.
- Whatever the cost of the gym, if the community has that amount of debt capacity available, we should consider priorities. Instead of a gym, $2.9 million could cover salaries for three new teachers for 25 years. It could give every teacher in the district a $2000 bonus and then some every year for 25 years. New gym, new teachers, better teacher pay... which do you think would have more impact on our students' educational achievement?
These reasons are all focused on the merits of the plan itself. Voters may take justifiable umbrage at other shenanigans, like the school board's manipulation of election law and the local media's constant spin in favor of the project (the Madison Daily Leader always soft-pedaled the prominence of the new gym in this plan, and it did little to obtain comment from opponents of this plan). But our local and state budget prospects, the misprioritization of athletics, and the certainty of cheaper alternatives (proven by the school's own bus barn revision) are sufficient to justify voting No in today's election.
p.s.: State law (SDCL 12-8-9) says that anyone may be present to observe the voting and the counting of ballots afterward. Anyone. The count takes place at the City Armory, right after polls close at 7 p.m.
Almost a year and a half ago, my family and I made the conscious decision to move back to Madison after living elsewhere for a number of years. Our firstborn child reaching kindergarten age factored heavily in that decision. My wife and I are from South Dakota. Our families are here. We love this state and recognize how fortunate we are to have grown up here. To this day, I am still in regular contact with more than one of my hometown schoolteachers. They are remarkable individuals, great friends and educators of the highest quality. Our kids would do well to have similar experiences.
When this bond issue was first brought up, I couldn't help but consider the benefits a renovation/addition might someday provide our three children. I'm a huge sports fan. I'm also a fan of the arts. I love to eat tasty foods. However, I don't believe our local school district has an obligation to provide large spectator gyms or state-of-the-art culinary kitchens. At present, MHS boasts two repeat championship sports teams. There is a fine culinary-arts school not far from here. I would be pleased if the curriculum remained focused on subjects such as math, science and technology, English, music, etc. I do not consider the school district to be a “for profit†organization, nor do I view it as a vocational technical institute.
Our state’s teachers are significantly underpaid for the knowledge they bestow on our kids. Having this in mind, don’t we contribute sufficiently to our schools already? The voters in this community have demonstrated the willingness to give more. For many, there isn’t much more to give. If we decide to contribute additional funds, let’s contribute to what is necessary for our kids to excel academically before anything else.
In my opinion, the plans being proposed are admirable, albeit too extensive considering the current economic state of affairs on the local, state and national levels.
Having made these comments, I also have a confession to make. I have described the tactics employed by proponents of this plan as deplorable. At the onset of these discussions, I was “on the fence†about which way to vote. After observing – again and again and again - the strategy put forward by those in favor of this plan, I arrived at a conclusion with both my head and my heart.
Thank you, Steve. Your thoughtful comment puts the lie to the ad-hominem contention of plan supporters who claim people who vote No don't care about their school.