My last diary entry seemed to go over so well I figure I might as well try another.
Oh and I decided to blog again after I hiatus of 2 years.
http://thoughtsfromruralwisconsin.bl...
I am new to the small town of Cumberland, Wisconsin. The school district has a bond referendum April, 1. There has been a lot of anti-referendum coverage in the local paper, the Cumberland Advocate. I do not know how the paper stand on the issue, but I felt a need to write to them about how I felt. The biggest issue people seem to have with the referendum is that the school wants to build an auditorium. God forbid that money is spent for arts education. This organization http://futureofcumberland.org/ explains the need the need for the referendum.
My letter
I have some thoughts on the March 5 article http://www.cumberland-advocate.com/... about the school referendum.
Pertaining to the "area energy matrix", the argument is specious at best. That Cumberland High School has the lowest square foot heating costs does not mean a new heating system is not needed. It would be like comparing cars from the 1950’s and 1960’s and saying one has better gas mileage than the others. Of course one will be better than the others, but that does not mean the gas mileage it gets is good, or comparable to what a new car will get. I think we can all agree that heating technology in the 21st century is leaps in bounds ahead of 1950’s technology. Not only will there be much greater efficiency but also much lower emissions. How many people currently use the same system to heat as they did in 1959? Do we expect our schools to continue to use 1959 technology?
The auditorium seems to be a question of community values. My wife and I chose to move to Cumberland because of the strong community and strong school system. It is the type of place we decided we wanted to raise children. A strong arts community is vital to a dynamic exciting city. From the turnout I have seen at the ETC productions, I think a lot of people in the area would agree.
We can allow the Cumberland Schools to stagnate or give them the tools to be a world class school. A world class education is not just the three R’s and sports. It is the total package and that includes arts education. Physical education is disrupted 80 days a year because of the need to use the gymnasium for other functions. I think it is disingenuous for opponents to say that the auditorium is a luxury. Not only will it enhance Fine Arts education, but will allow the gymnasium to be used for its correct purpose; a classroom for physical education, which improves athletics programs.
We live in a part of the country that will continue to see a decline in enrollment. This should not mean we shouldn’t strive to have a world class school system. The naysayers complain about the economy going bad and no one being able to afford the tax increase. During times of prosperity they will say that the schools should be able to survive on general funds alone. There is always an argument against referendums.
The average home value in Barron County in 2006 was $112,938. http://www.usahousevalues.us/...
This equates to a tax increase of about $50 per year. I don’t think the naysayers think the needs are not there or are not a good idea. They just don’t want to have to pay their share. That is what being part of a community means. We all should pay for the betterment of the community as a whole. Seems like a small price for an exciting, vital community and school system.