I almost missed this, but thanks to a reader, here it is: A group of
pro 4K residents will be making an appeal to the school board this
Tuesday during the Citizen's Forum time--first on the agenda.
My reader had this to say about the pro 4K group:
...Seems as though they believe that the old 'wear em down one
request at a time' philosophy will work on the board as well as it
works on the taxpayers.
...I was reminded of Tom Gehl's comment about
where the taxpayers went the last time the proposal came up, forcing
him to face an [emotionally charged crowd]** alone.
My reader then suggested a counter "No Way 4K" cheering section at the
meeting, to give the board a little moral support.
Last fall, I was there when they made that difficult decision in discontinuing Elmbrook's 4K program. They made
that tough choice because there was no proof that 4K made a long term
academic improvement.
True, 4K will add money to the school district's budget, but it will
also add more tax burden to Elmbrook taxpayers. We cannot afford to add programs
that do not deliver real results. 4K shows no long lasting academic
improvement, therefore it is a luxury. Right now is the time to tighten
our belt, not indulge in self serving programs.
We will already see higher property tax bills because
that magical 2% growth (projected by the experts) the referendum tax
calculations were based on has not materialized.
We did not even hit 1%
growth this year, and that was a figure from June, when our market was
stronger. From Fairly Conservative, Brookfield assessed growth less than 1%: (My emphasis)
The Board of Review met this morning and assessed property values in the City of Brookfield only grew 0.987% to $6,300,693,600.
This low number has enormous implications for taxpayers who will be
taxed above that growth according to state caps. Low growth also
affects the estimates used for the Elmbrook referendum as well as the
failing TIF district in our community.
Come to the School Board meeting on Tuesday to show your support for the board's decision to discontinue 4K. (Maybe I could make the Citizen Forum and still catch most of the Creation Science speaker?) If you plan on speaking, make your comments short (2 minutes) and please be polite.
Superintendent Matt Gibson and some of the board are looking at ways to increase their budget through "revenue enhancers." 4K would do that, but at an added expense to the taxpayer. Let's not even let them think about flirting with 4K** again!
*I could not verify Tom Gehl's original words. This conveys the same meaning. Tom was one among 4 who voted the measure down: Meg Wartman, Patrick Murphy, and Glen Allgaier.
**I don't want to make more of this flirtation than it was: just a mention. But often "mentions" are made to test the waters of acceptance or opposition.
Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3pm or 6:30-7:30pm City
Clerk Kris Schmidt will be in attendance to answer questions or concerns
regarding recent news about the Van Hollen lawsuit against the state elections
authority.
Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.
Links:
Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna
