One of my regular readers sent me this today. I think if fits in well with the latest vote yes postcard.

"Today's the big day! Will our community whimsically vote to add more debt to our already outstanding sum of $2,798.66* for every man, woman and child in the Elmbrook school district? (YIKES) Or will we Just Say No!"

The way you vote for this referendum today will speak volumes to your children about what is important in life.

If you are trying to teach them to be fiscally responsible, manage their money well, and live within their means, a Yes vote will not reinforce those ideas.

If you are trying to teach them to be good stewards, a Yes vote will reinforce the idea that you don't need to be responsible with "the little" to be entrusted with more.

If you are trying to teach your children to be considerate of others and respect their elders, a Yes vote again will not reinforce those ideals. Most seniors already have a hard time deciding on whether to eat or buy prescriptions. This referendum will bring them to tougher decisions.

Will your vote today teach your children to be ruled by wants and emotions and value only the shiny and new or will it teach them to base their decisions on facts and the reality of budgets.

Lastly, IF you had to bring a check to the polling place today, made out for the entire amount of the referendum and dated so that the district could take out their yearly allotment in order to cast a YES vote, would you still vote yes?

Today is MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TUESDAY! Go vote! Besides 2 no votes on the referendums, I am writing in Jon Wolff against Bob Ziegler and Cindy Kilkenny against Glen Allgaier.

Please attend the Public Comment session at Brookfield's City hall tonight at 7:45 pm. This will be your final opportunity to speak out against the moving of 2 fire stations to the west. East High School will lose its 1 minute response time.

Post WW2 era buildings = modern construction

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*Source:
Wold Printing Services, Chicago, Il - online muni's
School District of Elmbrook, Waukesha County, Wisconsin Taxable General Obligation Refunding Bonds, posted 01/20/2005: $9,780,000 bonds w/ maturity 2006-2024
"direct, overlapping and underlying bonded indebtedness per capita: $2,798.66"

Last weekend, I went on the mechanical tour at both high schools. I saw many things that should have been attended to but did not require a referendum to do. Others were items that in other districts would have just been taken care of within their operations budget, like painting door jambs, etc.

The third category would fall into a capitol improvement project during the summer, such as new chemistry cabinetry and counter tops. Nothing I saw was anything that a bit of diligence and a modest increase in budget could not remedy.

Right now I would like to focus on two problems that were just out and out neglect: a hole in the ceiling and holes in the wall. These problems challenge the Elmbrook LINK statement: “While the schools are well maintained within the scope of annual operating budgets...”

I question this statement because both would have been inexpensive and relatively easy to fix.

The first picture is of the ceiling in the girls locker room at Central’s pool. I think it has been like this since I took a mother and child swim class (my son is now 18). It is an access panel for something. The question is why was the ceiling never re-plastered around the frame? This is not a functional problem, just a cosmetic. I could even repair this one!

But these holes in the electric room are a real problem. They are the remaining sleeves from the abandoned oil tank lines which passed through the electrical room at Central. As you can see from the photo, water is seeping in through these holes and collecting on the electrical room floor.

Now most people’s first reaction is that water and electricity don’t mix. Pity the poor electrician that needs to work on or shut off any circuit breakers in there! That is a problem, but it's not the worst problem. According to new standards, electricians are not supposed to work anything "hot" (live).

No, the real problem here is that the humidity is very high in this closed room, and humidity and electrical contacts don’t mix. High humidity causes the contacts in the circuit breakers to oxidize and corrode. This eventually will cause the breaker to fail. Considering how many breakers are in this vicinity and the expense of changing them out, you would think the district would get after this, or at the very least put in a dehumidifier.

This would be a prime example of a very inexpensive repair that the district is ignoring. It does not require a referendum to fix it, just effort.

We had a similar situation in our home. The underground oil tank lines came in through our basement wall and water leaked in around the pipes. My husband dug down with a shovel from the outside, cleaned up the area, and used hydraulic cement to patch the holes.

Presto. No more leak.

Cost? About $10.00 in cement and a bit of sweat equity. That is all it would cost the district too. If the area above that wall is not accessible, it could be patched from the inside with the cement and epoxy.

There is no reason that the district could not fix this either. They still can and save the circuitry. Any responsible property owner would do so.

So why have they been neglected? Seems to me the district is a strange mix of Slum Lord: do as little as possible, combined with a welfare entitlement mentality: why take care of it; the taxpayers will just buy me a new one.

I’m hard pressed to come up with any other explanation for neglecting these simple repairs.

ONLY 2 MORE DAYS UNTIL MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TUESDAY!

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Read Elmbrook paid for some of Janesville's referendum? first.

Is this happening here? "School board & (Janesville) Gazette mislead voters"

In Janesville, the school district knew they were in serious financial trouble but promoted their building referendum anyway. Jim Bahler, a frustrated Janesville resident, told of the boards referendum tunnel vision in a recent letter to the editor of the Gazette “It was three short days after the November elections that will bring four gymnasiums, air conditioning and new science labs to the high schools, that Superintendent Tom Evert announced there would not be enough money to pay for the actual education of students.”

It sounds as if the majority of Janesville voters were unaware of the seriousness of the $1.8 million budget shortfall. “It appears that this impending problem was intentionally ignored so the building referendums could pass”, Jim wrote.

“A few days later, the Gazette (newspaper) editorialized that the public should have read between the lines and seen this coming.” The Gazette posted an Editor’s Note after Jim’s letter: The Gazette reported March 14, 2006: "The district's budget outlook is bleak for 2007-08," and "a projection based on current state law would require another $1.8 million budget cut in 2007-08."

"Our editorial (Gazette) April 13, 2006: 'District residents should realize program and staff cuts likely will get harder in the years ahead.' We quoted then-board President Nancy Sonntag as saying, 'Next year, we're going to be looking at cutting programs.'"

So what happened in Janesville?

Same thing that is happening all over: falling enrollments.

The Rocknetroots, a Janesville area blog reported,
“...budget debates are now over and with further cuts looming down the road for the next budget, its beginning to appear like the successfully passed $70.8 million referendum will hang around the necks of the school board and taxpayers for years to come.”

The Gazette newspaper blames the public for not reading between the lines and seeing this coming. The Rocknetroots says that April 13th of 2006 “was the last time the taxpayers saw any major article about the impending budget cuts” until the referendum vote in Nov. of 2006.

Rocknetroots also notes that on Sept. 26, 2006 the “Gazette ran a front-page story about the TLC group promoting a ‘yes’ vote”—“not one word was mentioned of budget shortfalls”.

Interestingly, the Gazette editorial prior to the vote encouraged a “Yes” vote, “Use vision to vote “yes” to better schools without a mention of the impending school budget short-falls.

If you really want to have the hair stand up on the back of your neck, read the entire Rocknetroots posting: School Referendum How-To, March 30, 2007

Note: “Officials of the Elmbrook School district visited Janesville ‘and reviewed plans and politics surrounding our November 2006 high school facilities referendum’ according to a memo from Superintendent Tom Evert to the school board.” (Rocknetroots quote from Janesville Gazette)

Point 1 in Rocknetroots how to: “If your referendum includes expanding your schools while facing projections of declining enrollment, never connect the two. Just talk about declining enrollment as the reason why teachers and special aide programs must be cut and blame state enrollment guidelines, BUT ONLY AFTER the referendum has passed.”

Point 4: “DO NOT give the voters any choice by breaking the referendum into individual projects. If you do, people will naturally assume then that something is wrong and only vote for the things that are really necessary. Play hardball politics with this, throw as much in the referendum as you can.”

Point 5. “Although this is about education, impress upon people that even if they don’t care about the schools, they should still be selfish enough to vote YES because it may increase their property values.”

The handwriting was on the wall in Janesville, the school district just hoped no one would notice. They didn’t. What about here?

Brookfieldnow Community Watch posted on March 13, that 14 Elmbrook teachers were getting layoff notices. This is a sign of declining enrollments. Many will be recalled, but it shows that numbers are that uncertain. “Staffing needs will continue to be assessed as more reliable enrollment numbers and final building schedules are determined.”, the assistant superintendent of human resources said.

Enrollments are declining. Bob Borch addressed this topic in a Q & A with an area resident: A: Borch, "Current enrollment is 1,413 students at Central and 1,391 at East (2,804 current total.) The district does not do 20 year enrollment projections. We do five year projections which shows high school enrollment at 2,510 students total for both schools in 2011-12."

 

The Elmbrook LINK states, “There has never been a greater need than now to recruit all possible resident-student enrollments into our schools, according to...Bob Borch... Projections for enrollment and for operational revenues and expenditures show the district needs to reduce the budget by about $1.5 million in each of the next five years.”

One reader commented about our district’s budget problems, “Well, notice that our board has decided to wait until after the vote to begin discussing our cuts as well. 

The district is already operating at a significant deficit.  The need to cut $1.5 million dollars from the operating budget each year for the next 5 years means it may become necessary for the district to ask taxpayers for the money needed to exceed current revenue caps just to cover our basic needs.  Taxing our residents to the brink of what they can (or are willing to) afford does not leave room for future wants or needs.”

You know how they always say, Bricks and mortar don’t educate kids; teachers do? Janesville realized that too late.

 

Are Elmbrook residents savvier?

 

 

When I was on the mechanical tour last weekend, I did watch the “informative” video playing in the lobby. (I cannot call it unbiased.) I kept waiting for the commercial to break in.... (Read this in your best announcer voice.)

...And now a word from our sponsor, your Elmbrook School District.

...They brought you referendum, after referendum, after referendum, after referendum, from 1991 to 1995, until the 5th one for Swanson finally passed.

...The ones who brought you the Swanson Swap that you only found out about before the fact because of a leak to the press.

...The same gang who, after the community spoke out loud and clear to save Swanson, tried to change our school district from a Unified to a Consolidated School District so they wouldn’t need public permission to sell school property ever again. (That measure failed.)

...The same group who purposely neglected maintaining our high schools for at least the past 6 years and then have the nerve to whine about our school’s condition. (This is solvable.)

...Don’t forget our board’s approval of that “needed” 4K program, overriding the publics' displeasure of adding another $67 to our tax bills. It required dipping into our reserves to implement. (It still has some openings, and they said it was such a need?)

...And, last but not least, don’t forget my favorite: the $2.5 million dollar tax bite (defeasance) they took out of your wallet last year on your 2006 property tax bill. NOT TO PAY DOWN THE DEBT, but to invest!

When we voted in 2000 for the 2 new grade schools, we approved that referendum for $17,900,000 not an additional pre funding investment scheme.

Anyway, I thought you should remember who the SPONSOR is of this referendum.

Is it a name you can trust?

ONLY 5 MORE DAYS UNTIL MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TUESDAY!

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Someone gave me their Vote Yes postcard yesterday, so I could take a look at it. (I did not receive one because I do not have children in the district.)

The first thing I noticed was that it was an appeal to the emotions. It asks: ...if you would FEEL compelled to help. It then portrays a list of below average and failing grades for various components in the high schools.

I don’t know what they based these grades on. To me a failing grade would mean it does not meet minimal standards—that it does not function at a reasonable expectation. Example: Mechanical Systems: “F” to me would mean we consistently have interrupted or inadequate service for heat, lights, water, electricity, etc. Anyway, that is their opinion; these grades are not based on facts. The school district's own literature contradicts those bad grades, stating that the schools have been "well maintained" (within operating budgets).

But this is one FACT they got WRONG: No opinion, it is simply incorrect.
And it's in regard to a major component: the price.

They state that the COST is roughly 50 cents a day.

THAT IS NOT TRUE!

THE REAL COST IS ROUGHLY 94 CENTS A DAY.

I added up all of the columns on the district’s cost calculator for referendum question #1 and #2, and it totaled $6,837.65 for an average Brookfield home of $335,000. (That is the number the district has been using, if you would add Elm Grove’s average home value into the mix, that number would be higher).

The postcard also listed various other problems below the report card that I don’t believe are accurate. Hopefully I will address them in a future piece.

I realize the question of the high school referendums is something that can be looked at from both sides: the proverbial water glass half full or empty. BUT one must portray the fact of the glass’ contents accurately or the merit of the argument does not hold water!

ONLY 7 MORE DAYS UNTIL MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TUESDAY!

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Just 52 cents a day. Only $191 increase in school property tax per year.

It’s in all the district’s literature and on their website. It was in the Waukesha Freeman and Brookfield NOW. Lisabeth Passalis-Bain quotes the district in her article. “According to an Elmbrook School District-issued brochure, ‘the projected increase in the 2007 tax bill of an average ($335,000) home is $164 for the first question and/or $27 for the second question. (That impact) is projected to hold constant for the first 10 years and decline for the last 10 years of the repayment schedule.’ ”

I even misspoke about that .52 cents a day in my blog: My 2 cents on 52 cents a day

I compared their 52 cents of spare change argument to how the Christian Children’s Fund used to make their appeals. Trouble is, the Children’s Fund worked out to the real cost of the referendum for the average household, not the defeased amount! (The actual daily cost of $350/year is 96 cents/day.)

The real cost on the calculator of $308.20 a year works out to be $0.84 a day, or $378.55 a year--or $1.04 a day. depending on how you classify our Brookfield El. and Dixon debt.

Barbara Shore wrote the following very easy to understand explanation of defeasance and another thing to consider when deciding how you will vote on April 3: The Doyle tax increases.

"Twilight Zone"

Did you know? The Elmbrook School District wants the “average” homeowner, whose house is valued at $335,000, to pay either $378 or $191 extra school property tax every year.

The actual figure you use depends on whether you are giving a pass to the “prefunding” the Board included in the 2007 budget. In other words, we are already paying for the assumption that the referendum will pass by paying off prior debt earlier than scheduled.

On top of this, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article recently reported that under Doyle’s proposed state budget, the property tax rate statewide would increase 3.4%.

So in addition to the referendum increase of $191 or $378 or however you want to spin it, the “average” Brookfield homeowner would see another tax hike due to State budget issues, plus the $70 for the 4K, plus the usual 5% increase that EBSD adds on to their budget from year to year for operating expenses.

That’s without any increase from the city, county or WCTC. For all we know, the total cost of all the spending and budget issues could whack the “average” tax bill upward by $500 or more. This whole scenario is taking on other worldly proportions, reminiscent of ..."The Twilight Zone"

(Emphasis added)

Opinions and views expressed in guest postings do not necessarily reflect all of the opinions of Practically Speaking and Brookfield7. They are written by and are the opinion of the person listed at the bottom. Anonymous postings are submitted by persons who do not wish to have their name on the piece

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