(Fwd) Re: [Vision2020] Smoke and Mirrors

[Art Deco]

Phil,

You are either grossly uninformed or you are deliberately lying.

In Boundary County (Bonners Ferry), there was a huge, huge school bankruptcy -- over 300 persons in that small county (about 10,000) lost their jobs and ALL the students were sent home for the rest of the spring term.  However, that was a CEDU, a PRIVATE school.

The CEDU layoff came a week or so before the last M&O levy for the public schools.  Even with that crushing economic blow, the levy lost by a very small amount.  Community leaders (not egotistic detractors and know-it-alls) urged the school board to run the levy again instead of making Draconian cuts.  The school board agreed.

The economy of Boundary County constantly suffers severe ups and downs -- it is timber, agriculture, and government services (international border, forest service, etc) driven.  Boundary County does support public education -- a new high school, outdoor sports fields, and a gymnasium were built in recent years as well as additions and remodels to elementary schools, etc.  Mt. Hall Elementary raises via parent/alumni involvement $30 - 50,000 extra each year in addition to its tax allocation.  

I am a graduate of Mt Hall elementary and of Bonners Ferry High School.  About 60% of my high school 1958 graduating class went on to further education.  Those of us who came directly to the UI were pleased to discover that our averages on the Math and English entrance exams were more than a standard deviation above the averages of other entering freshman.  

I am extremely grateful to both the Boundary County School District, the parade of dedicated teachers, and to the many Boundary County property tax payers whose personal, voluntary sacrifices made it possible for me to rise from a family whose annual income was then less than $1,000 per year (and no welfare) to being able live a comfortable and still knowledge-seeking life now.

The chief opponents of school levies (and all other levies) in Boundary County are Dale Courtney type religious crackpots and/or some just plain selfish, me-centered, but comparably well off persons .  Of course, the elderly on fixed incomes and some of the very poor oppose the levy too, but mainly for economic reasons.

There were many reasons why the recent Moscow School District levy failed.   However, there is absolutely no reason to lie about Boundary County to make your point -- it only reinforces again what many people now think:  you and many others were against the levy from the beginning and looked for reasons not to support it rather than taking the time to become involved, do your own legwork, look at the big picture and the details, and then make an objective decision based on a risk/reward assessment.

Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID  83843

(208) 882-7975
waf at moscow.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "cjs" <cjs at turbonet.com>
To: "Dan Carscallen" <predator75 at moscow.com>
Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 1:41 PM
Subject: RE: (Fwd) Re: [Vision2020] Smoke and Mirrors


> Ever heard of the word "bankruptcy" due to over expenditure, inaccurate bidding, etc? Look at Bonners. Look at Nez Pierce. This is why we need a new prudent school district and administrators.
> 
> Phil
> 
> 
> -----Original message-----
> From: "Dan Carscallen" predator75 at moscow.com
> Date: Tue,  3 May 2005 12:31:07 -0700
> To: "'Donovan Arnold'" donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com
> Subject: RE: (Fwd) Re: [Vision2020] Smoke and Mirrors
> 
>> Donovan says:
>> "[T]he school district has never produced any documentation saying the
>> school is falling apart . . ."
>> 
>> Um, neither has anyone else.  But, there have been many posts speaking
>> of *renovating* the existing building, and whether there is as much
>> "bang for the buck" in continual renovations vs. a new building.
>> 
>> Ever hear the phrase "nickel and dime you to death"?
>> 
>> DC
>> 
>> _____________________________________________________
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> 
> _____________________________________________________
> List services made available by First Step Internet, 
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
>               http://www.fsr.net                       
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
> 
>
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