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<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>Thanks for
your reasoned questions, Matt.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>I'm not an
expert on school financing, but I do know a bit.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>In your math,
the first thing you are forgetting is that Ms. Donicht said "salaries and
BENEFITS".</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>Taking your
formula where you came up with $40,000 as the median salary - Using your
math, this would be the median expense per staff member. Usually 35% of
that would be benefits, leaving the actual salary far lower. Many of these
benefits are required by law, as they are with most
businesses.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>The second
item I noticed is the comparison, yet again, of Moscow with Pullman. Until
the State of Washington and the State of Idaho fund their schools with the same
formula, you cannot compare these two towns.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff>Just my
thoughts...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=921194807-10112007><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff>Bev</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com]<B>On
Behalf Of </B>Matt Decker<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 09, 2007 11:26
PM<BR><B>To:</B> keely emerinemix; Paul Rumelhart;
Vision2020<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Why I'm going to vote Yes on
the Levy<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>Keely/all,<BR><BR>First and foremost thanks for
your drive and determination towards our children's education. You've taken
many steps to insure success. I have to admit though, that I am unsure about
giving my vote to the levy. Let me explain. I have many questions and have
heard from both sides on this topic. So please let me give my thoughts, but
also give me hope that our schools will spend the money wisely.<BR><BR>Candis
Donicht wrote an opinion piece tonight in which she states that MSD has a
budget of $20,360,923. She also mentions that 81% of that goes to "salaries
and benefits". She further states that, "175 teachers" are employed by MSD.
Now bare with me, since I am a MSD graduate. Twenty mil divided by
175=$114,285. We all know that can't be true. So I will assume that this
budget includes cooks, assistants, lawn care, etc. Let's again assume
that 500 people are employed by the MSD, under this percentage. Twenty mil
divided by 500=$40,000. A great median wage. Now we are going to increase this
rate by 1.9 mil. A increase of 10.33%. Seems pretty high to me. Where is this
money going?<BR><BR>Now I know I may not have all the numbers correct, but I
also doubt that they are too far off. To me Candice stating that 81% of the
money goes to pay scares me. Why should raising the rate of teachers pay three
times more then that of inflation, raise our level of education? Money does
not = education. <BR><BR>Furthermore, Dale( I will be labeled as a kirker for
mentioning his name) Courtney brought up a valid point in his opinion piece.
He mentioned that the state tax has been raised by 1%, all of which is for
schools. Hopefully meaning that more is coming this way. Why not wait another
year?<BR><BR>I also can't get over the fact that our neighboring cities pay
less, but have higher test scores. Pullman has less teachers, but yet again
beat us in most accounts. Again money does not = education<BR><BR>Also cant
understand how Moscow has lost student numbers, but yet we insist on smaller
numbers. Why? When I was there we had 25-30 students per class(1984-95). Now
we want smaller? Hey I'm all for it, but only if the GPA rises. Which, I am
unsure of. <BR><BR>I have no problem giving my vote to this levy, but I need
question like these answered. Please give me hope.<BR><BR>Thanks for your
time<BR>Matt<BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<HR>
From: kjajmix1@msn.com<BR>To: godshatter@yahoo.com;
vision2020@moscow.com<BR>Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2007 21:30:17 -0800<BR>Subject:
Re: [Vision2020] Why I'm going to vote Yes on the Levy<BR><BR>
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Thank you, Paul!<BR><BR>keely<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>> Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2007
20:59:25 -0800<BR>> From: godshatter@yahoo.com<BR>> To:
vision2020@moscow.com<BR>> Subject: [Vision2020] Why I'm going to vote
Yes on the Levy<BR>> <BR>> Just a few reasons:<BR>> <BR>> I
can't underestimate the value of education in our community. Forget <BR>>
evolution vs. intelligent design, think basic math skills, a sense of
<BR>> history, simple reading skills, a knowledge of the language we
speak, <BR>> and a basic understanding of science. Where would we be
today if we <BR>> didn't value education? Do you like that computer
you're reading this <BR>> with? Are you happy to know that the hospital
is just down the street <BR>> if you have some kind of medical problem?
Would you rather drive to the <BR>> ocean, or walk? The more data we have
to live life, the better it will <BR>> become. The more we all know, the
better off we all are. This <BR>> prosperity results in real-world
economic development. This makes us <BR>> richer as a community. Our
poorest people are richer than much of the <BR>> rest of the
world.<BR>> <BR>> So, education is important. But why not educate
everyone individually? <BR>> Why centralize it?<BR>> <BR>> Well,
first you have economies of scale. There is more to learning than <BR>>
just sitting around the teacher on the floor in a semi-circle, listening
<BR>> to him or her reading you stories. You need books and supplies. You
<BR>> need places to work, and you need prepared lessons. Centralizing
all <BR>> this makes sense. Why expect every family to buy a microscope?
Or a <BR>> bunsen burner? Or a wall map of the US? Why dump a substantial
amount <BR>> of money individually when we can spend less by centralizing
it?<BR>> <BR>> You also have the benefits of specialization. We teach
our teachers <BR>> about one particular subject until they become experts
on it. Why ask <BR>> everyone to learn everything about all subjects? We
also teach our <BR>> teachers how to teach. It's not simple, and just
faking your way <BR>> through it is not recommended. Why expect all of us
to learn this? <BR>> Granted, it's probably very useful, but we have a
limited amount of time <BR>> and a limited number of neurons. Learning
all this takes time, and the <BR>> ones who have learned it the best cost
money. Yet we need them desperately.<BR>> <BR>> Public education is
the great equalizer. People who can't afford to <BR>> teach their
children, whether it's because of finances or time <BR>> commitments or
lack of knowledge in some areas, will still be able to <BR>> give them an
education. Every child, no matter their background, has <BR>> the
opportunity to excel in their learning. Who will become the next <BR>>
great physicist, or mathematician, or musician? It's also a great <BR>>
springboard. Who will be in the right place with the right set of facts
<BR>> and the knowledge to make use of them and do the next great thing?
<BR>> That's why I want to live forever. So I can see what people keep
coming <BR>> up with as the world progresses.<BR>> <BR>> Another
reason for centralization is the changing nature of the world we <BR>>
live in. All of us spend much of our lifetime unlearning things we <BR>>
learned as children. Some of it was simply our misunderstandings as we
<BR>> developed and are simply later correcting. Other facts, though,
have <BR>> simply been shown to be wrong. Look how much physics has
changed in the <BR>> last 50 years. Subjects like history change as we
realize more about <BR>> our past. Geography changes as world events
progress. Even with <BR>> relatively slowly changing fields, such as
mathematics, new ways of <BR>> imparting knowledge to others in these
areas are found. Teaching <BR>> incorrect knowledge is probably worse
than not teaching that knowledge <BR>> at all. This corrected knowledge
needs to be assimilated, and it's <BR>> inefficient to have to teach
every homemaker just to have them teach <BR>> their kids the next day.
It's more efficient to have those specialists <BR>> I mentioned
previously get updated on their subjects. It's faster, <BR>> because they
are subject experts, and there are fewer of them to teach. <BR>> It's
also easier to require that they get updated on their subjects. <BR>>
<BR>> So why support this levy, specifically? Because, in my humblest of
<BR>> opinions, every penny we can afford to throw at it we will see back
<BR>> again a hundred-fold in the future as a community. I'm sure there's
a <BR>> line out there past which any increases will not help. I think we
are <BR>> so far away from the breakpoint that it's silly to talk about
it. Also, <BR>> the appropriateness of this levy has been put into
question. Show our <BR>> community that we know how important education
is by voting Yes on this.<BR>> <BR>> Paul<BR>> <BR>>
=======================================================<BR>> List
services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>> serving the
communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>> http://www.fsr.net <BR>>
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>>
=======================================================<BR><BR>
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