Dear Editor:

As a member of the Ortonville School District and the communities that the district serves, I strongly value quality education for all students. Being an educator and a former 10+ year employee of the district I cannot support the upcoming school referendum. I believe that it is important to share my reasons for taking this stance.

First, the financial burden this referendum places on taxpayers is significant.  Many are already struggling with the rising costs of living and higher property taxes will make it even harder for families, seniors, and those on fixed incomes to stay afloat. Asking for more funding at this time feels out of touch with the economic realities that many in our community face.

Secondly, I have concerns about the school district’s current financial management. It wasn’t that long ago, four years ago if memory serves me right, I sat in the school auditorium with the entire staff where we were presented a deficit outlook for the next few years of upwards of $250,000.  The district was going to be looking at cutting expenses and trimming excess to be proactive towards the deficit years we would be facing.  I know, I know, as we were told then when some offered suggestions, money has different “colors”.  Simply said, there were various fund balances coming into play. I get that, however…. I also remember that this was the first ever year in which I was actually given a budget that had a monetary value cap. I recall quite vividly coming into the district my first couple of years asking multiple times for a budget limit, never did I get an $ amount. It wasn’t until the last several years in the district that I and the staff in general were asked to relook at what I had requisitioned for the upcoming fiscal year.

I feel strongly about accountability on all fronts.  I have worked in several districts, each being very different in size, culture, and how they handled the fiscal management of their systems. I was a long term employee in each of the districts, 4+ years or more, so feel I have various vantage points to compare to. All of the districts that I have worked in, with the exception of the

Ortonville District, functioned with way less employee overhead. Other districts proved to function very efficiently with fewer department employees than Ortonville. Two of those systems also had twice the student population that we have.

During my tenure with the Ortonville District, I can say that I had multiple conversations regarding this very thing.  Although, I can’t speak to how this looks this year, I can honestly say that there are a number of individuals across the district that simply are not needed and seem to be overlooked in terms of their job performance. While others continue to pick up the pieces of others and go above and beyond in making everyday the best day for students who walk through the doors.

As a long term employee of the district and tired of putting my head in the sand and looking the other way I knew I had to make a change for myself.  In all of the other districts that I have worked in large and small, from the top down, to administration to school board, there was not only transparency and accountability, there was a high level of visibility of all groups. Daily, I would see and be able to communicate with administrators. Weekly, the superintendent was checking in to see how things were going within the school and my department of special education. Quarterly, school board members were in and around the building visiting with staff and checking in, taking surveys of how things were running throughout the system. In all of them, I always felt not only that I had a voice, but the ideas of everyone were under consideration. In my new role in a neighboring school district, I have seen and had open conversations with my principal, superintendent, and staff more in the first five months than I did over the course of 10 years in the Ortonville District. How does the district then determine needs without having conversations, taking surveys, or being available and visible to staff?

Before requesting additional funds, the district should provide greater transparency on how existing resources are being utilized. Are there inefficiencies or unnecessary expenditures that could be addressed first. Without accountability and visibility, it’s difficult to trust that new funds will be used effectively. I don’t know, but I look at the amount of money that has already been spent on architects, planning, and advertising.  One has to wonder if those monies would have been better spent on our youth. 

Additionally, the proposed spending priorities in the referendum do not align  with what I believe would most benefit our students. While infrastructure improvements or new facilities may look impressive, they will not guarantee better academic outcomes.  I would prefer to see resources directed towards improving classroom experiences, supporting teachers, staff, and addressing the specific needs of the students. I do believe that the tech areas of the school have top notch educators and do agree with internal improvements in these areas. I do not believe that the focus should be on athletics. I feel that there are several great options within our community that could be utilized for school use.  Teaming with the community on the already existing options makes more sense and would certainly have a lesser monetary impact to district members.

I love highschool athletics and extracurricular activities as a whole. All of my children have benefitted from them, however I believe that the district needs to take better care of what they currently have.  Simple things like locking bathroom doors, fresh paint, new versatile classroom furniture and curriculum should have been being addressed all along. The utilization and upkeep of some of our wonderful community parks, fields, and structures that sit idle should be looked into.

Finally, we must hold the district accountable for past and current practices. Having worked in the district for years I don’t feel like the administration has listened or even asked what would make our district better. Yes, certainly I recognize that JKE was noted and received the Blue Ribbon Award for closing the gap of our high achievers to those not meeting benchmark standards.  Kudos goes out to the teachers that spent extra time planning and supporting students after school hours to meet those benchmarks.  A huge amount of gratitude certainly should go to the Title I Program staff, several retired special education staff, and the paraprofessionals that were giving 110 percent to students in helping to close the achievement gap on and off the clock or during contracted time. They are the true heroes and should be recognized personally for their efforts and commitment to the students they came alongside to make that award possible. But, I must say that the district must demonstrate results in taking care of what they have first before asking for more.

I support education, and it is my heart and passion to help all students achieve their full ability in all areas.  Academics, arts, job skills, athletics, and citizenship are all at the forefront of creating a system and culture that allows students the opportunity to be the best they can be. I also believe in the responsible stewardship of public funds.  This referendum, in its current form, does not meet that standard.  I encourage others to carefully consider the long-term impact on our community and demand a better, more thoughtful approach to funding our schools.

Respectfully,

Michelle (Neubauer) Zepeda

Ortonville

Dear Editor:

March 15, 1945, 447th Bomb Group.

A large number of B-17 Bombers were flying over Orienberg, Germany with its crew that needed only two more runs before completing their assignment. The air was so thick with cannon fire and flak, one survivor later said you could walk on it.

Jess, a confident First Lieutenant was piloting the plane, hopeful he’d return safely to England. A former Minnesota wrestler, farm boy and husband, he would not return. A direct hit in the bomb bay and unable to parachute out. Spinning to earth he called out his wife’s name. In the dark night of Minnesota, she sat up and knew even before the telegram came. My mother never forgot. I never forgot. His body rests at Ardennes Cemetery. I got his name listed in the registrar in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London where Americans who died for freedom in WWII are honored and revered.

Now, we have someone who disrespects him running for President. Trump couldn’t bother to stand in the rain at Aisne-Marne Cemetery. His own staff and military officers have heard him call the dead, “losers” and “suckers”. He said the election was “stolen” when over 60 state and federal judges (even Republican appointees) stated there was no fraud in the election. Ken Block of Simpatico Software Systems, hired by the Trump campaign, said there was no fraud. How can Michelle Fischbach, among many other Republicans who stood with Trump’s lies and disrespect of disabled people, women and his own staff support him? With facts from world researchers, he denies medicine and science from places like the Mayo Clinic. As someone who worked for a Republican Senator and House member from Minnesota, I can only say that his siphoning away the life from the Republican Party, financially for his legal defense and charging the Secret Service exorbitant rates to stay at his golf courses and properties is wrong, and morally, leave me in a state of despair.

Join me in voting for only those politicians who are against Trump this time. It’s time.

Gina Magnuson

Champlin

ADV.

Dear Editor:

When the people founded this country, they risked everything, including their property, wealth, and their lives. They created the greatest country this world has known. It was created for the people with a limited government and a Constitution to control that government. How that has changed. We have a bloated government and its agencies that control just about every aspect of our lives. We have politicians who have made a career out of living off of the people and their taxes and gotten extremely wealthy.

There are politicians and a political party that want complete control over “we the people.” They mandate what we drive, that we get an unproven vaccine, what our children are taught, and that our children can decide to change their gender by having their bodies mutilated and if parents object, the children are taken from them. They want open borders that allow terrorists to come into this country, thousands of children that no one knows where they are. These children are probably being sex trafficked. Drugs that flow into this country, killing thousands of Americans every year. These politicians and party want to have abortions legal up until time of birth and call it pro choice and healthcare.

We have a Constitution that guarantees we the people free speech, but these politicians, democrat controlled news media, and social media control what we say and call it fact checking.

We have a justice system that goes after political opponents and groups it wants to silence, but does nothing to people that facts prove have broken laws.

There is so much more but I will stop at this, but their is an election in a few days that will determine what happens to this God blessed country and Constitution that many people have served in the military for and all those who gave their lives to protect.

You might not like Trump, but is that enough for you to want to destroy this country and Constitution. Say a prayer to our God that hate does not control us and then vote. Vote for stopping the lies, ???, more mandates and taxes so vote red.

Marlowe Klepel

Odessa

ADV.