What is going on in Watson?
In response to the article in the March 11 edition of the paper, “Watson City Council meeting cancelled,” on page 3A, second paragraph. “A newsletter had been sent to Watson residents to urge them to attend Tuesday’s meeting …” I for one did not receive this newsletter.
Was visiting with another Watsonite over the weekend and mentioned the newsletter. A phone call was made and a copy of the item was delivered to me.
Was this newsletter delivered only to certain residents? It did not have any identification as to who wrote it, nor was it signed.
Two other families, residents in the same building as me did not receive one either. What is going on?
— Bob Goeden
Watson
Consider all the issues
In his letter “No gimmicks or band aids,” Jim Ruether makes many valid points about the present state of the school budget. A school district must live within its means, and the impact of the current economic conditions makes it difficult for many in our community to bear the burden of tax increases.
However, Mr. Ruether considers only one aspect of this complex issue by speaking only of the costs of education. I believe the value an exceptional education system brings to a community is equally important.
A school that offers less and less each year to its students in the areas of academics, arts, athletics and extracurricular activities also offers less and less to the community.
A strong education program is to me a defining characteristic of a strong community, and it seems logical that if the school system struggles to attract and retain students, the community will struggle to attract and retain citizens.
Having just graduated from the Montevideo school system, I can vouch for the exemplary educators and programs that have become points of pride for our community. Mr. Ruether is right in asserting that passing a referendum is not the only available solution and indeed, I have watched this year as our board initiates the reorganizations and cuts to which Mr. Ruether refers, cuts I see as damaging to the tradition of excellence held by our education program.
I understand these reductions, though difficult, are necessary results of the economic situation our school is in. However, I do not believe the cuts commence the “path to success” that Mr. Ruether mentions.
Mr. Ruether is right, talking about passing a referendum does not change the difficult cuts that have to be made right now. However, it does provide one thing that cuts and freezes cannot offer — hope for a future of strong education programs in our community.
No one is proposing taking cash against the will of the taxpayers of Montevideo. The choice of a tax increase will ultimately be left to their vote. A referendum increases the means by which we have to live. If these available means remain at their current levels, the outcome will be far from successful.
Rather, cuts made in recent and coming years will be permanent, and our community will lose the value only a strong education system can provide.
— Andrew Stermer
MHS Class of 2009
Haven’t we heard enough?
There comes a time to stand up and not allow Jim Reuther to be the voice of “reason” within our community.
His continued negative comments have deflected the support our school district needs during these difficult times. Our schools are losing and reducing outstanding teachers who are dedicated to educate the future of our community.
Now is the time to defend our school’s decision to support our children and strive for continued excellence in our educational system.
We need to stop this continued backlash by bringing up past administration and board decisions. We need to move forward and the focus needs to remain on our children.
Ironically, Jim Reuther’s letter makes no mention of children except the quote “we are not against the children.”
My question is, “Who ultimately feels the consequences of all of the wage freezes and/or budget cuts?” Education is only in place for our children, so how does this not affect them?
I completely understand that people are on a fixed income and I am really sympathetic to that concern, but did you realize that to support our children for the next 10 years our property taxes would be:
Currently we have a $505.35 per pupil unit levy. If we would have passed our referendum in 2009, it would have increased to $975 per pupil unit levy. In comparison, LqPV has a $1,100 per pupil levy in place until 2016.
To all the residents of the Montevideo School District, please consider a “yes” to possible future referendums. We need to continue striving for a strong community that stresses the importance of education for our future generations.
—Amy Welberg Rongstad
Montevideo
Spinning in the wrong direction
For some reason, reading a letter-to-the-editor from Jim Reuther has become like overhearing heavy metal rock music from a passing car.
The righteous “I am a super great private business owner who can make tough decisions” overtone is like a hand spinning the car’s volume control in the wrong direction.
Unwilling to applaud the school board and superintendent for laboring for months at public meetings (and at their homes) to cut more than $750,000 in a single year, Jim must step up and pitch bricks at them.
Never mind that some of these bricks hit his neighbors and their children in the head and stomach. That simply is the price they have to pay for him to get his super important points across.
None of the current school board members is a close friend. However, I know each of them well enough to know that they are smart, thoughtful, well-intentioned people. So were their predecessors.
To accuse these people of “hiding things” and “avoiding the tough issues” and increasing programs without respect to the tax consequences is both fatuous and unkind.
Indeed, Jim’s arguments have some merit … but not enough merit to warrant his lack of charity and the boorish insistence that no one has been minding the tough issues.
Of course there are people in our community with fixed incomes. Of course there are business owners that have to make tough decisions. But those facts do not lead to an unthinking conclusion that all increases to school programming are irresponsible.
My 87-year-old mother lives on a fixed income, and I own and operate a business. But that does not make us anti-everything. Both of us are willing to contribute an extra $15 per month to help Minnesota’s public school system through this financial crisis while we figure out a better system. (And I agree that a better system needs to be developed.)
Unless we are going back to the one room schoolhouse model, there is a balance to be struck here. Everyone in our community (including Jim) has ideas about what the schools should do, what programs they should provide, and how many employees are needed to accomplish those things.
But resolving the differences requires honest and respectful debate. It is not too much to expect that we engage civilly and compassionately with each other.
It is unfortunate. Jim and I probably have a great deal of common ground on what should be done to help improve Minnesota’s public school system. But one could never tell.
—Geoffey Hathaway
Montevideo
Let’s hear from our students
I attended the Montevideo open school board meeting where many concerned citizens in Montevideo shared their opinions on how we can resolve our schools’ financial deficit. I appreciated that we were allowed to share our opinions, but I was most impressed when a few of the students shared how they would be directly affected by the changes that would be made to their school system.
I learned something important after working for the 8th Judicial Court system as a Guardian Ad Litem. Judges benefited from hearing from the children that would be directly affected by the decisions they made.
I think the Montevideo community should hear from our students, who will be affected by the decisions that are made.
I could share my feelings on the school board’s decisions that they are forced to make, but those decisions will not affect the education that I have already obtained.
Monte students are currently preparing for their MCA state testing in reading and writing. It might be beneficial for them to practice these skills by writing a letter to share their viewpoints with everyone.
In response to the letter Jim Ruether wrote, I am most likely one of the people who will be losing my job, so be thankful you still have employment.
I have also written a letter to Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
—Sue Evans
Montevideo
