Wake Up! Waukesha

$3.46 a gallon for gas ??!!

A median Waukesha home price of $195,250 ??!!

A total average cost of a new car in 2006 is $27,800.00 ??!!

These numbers are stark signposts for our children and what they will face in the coming years as they live the American Dream…

“Save your money; buy/build a starter home; sell it in few years; and move up to a better one”. That used to work, but with costs spiraling upward on many other staple expenses, including rent, how will they save enough for a downpayment? Simple – get a mortgage which would have been unthinkably high only 15 years ago. Now, with monthly payments “out of sight”, get both partners to work full time and hope neither experiences a career setback.

OK, you’re in a house, but you have to get to and from your job. Do you opt for one of those 0% 5 year new car financing specials where at some point in the loan life you owe more than the car is worth? Or is it a more affordable used car where the sticker price still demands another monthly payment? Either way, you will need gas and insurance. And if gas prices maintain at their current level much longer, many tight budgets will have to charge their purchases at the pump and make monthly payments. For gasoline!

Fast forward a few years and imagine between inflation and payments you now have an equity stake in your home. Time for the home you really wanted all along, so it’s now time to build! Great – buy a lot at Pewaukee’s Broken Hill subdivision off of Capitol Drive and Hwy 164 where the lot prices begin at $180,000. Now add a home for another $250,000 to $350,000 and you too can enjoy the fruits of your labor with an investment (and loans) totaling $475,000 or, most likely, more.

Why write about something so apparently “Doomsday”? How depressing would this be if one were to include health-care and higher education costs in the equation? And are jobs really keeping pace with consumer prices? The answer is surprising…

The next generation truly doesn’t care! This is their “time in the spotlight” and they are going to go for the gusto! Why…they believe in the American Dream! The “Dream” that what got them there will keep them there. Realistically, this upcoming generation does not give a thought about 20, 30, or 40 years from now. They live for today! ...And maybe that is…OK…

But it makes you wonder – did the generation ahead of me voice the same concerns and skepticism about my peers?...Remember, they were the generation who worried about saving us from Elvis’s gyrating torso on the Ed Sullivan TV Show. Obviously we didn’t take them too seriously…

Oh heck, ignore the price of cars and vacant land – enjoy yourself! You can always learn from your mistakes the “next time around”…

Summer is right around the corner. The fishing boat just received a new fish locator which guarantees success on the water (and below it). And, while looking forward to the upcoming months, I also have to recognize this year as a “biggie” in our parenting: Our two daughters are graduating!

Kelly, the oldest, graduated from the business school at UW La Crosse, moved back home for a day, and left for a 3½ week back-pack tour of Europe. This will be followed by job interviews and her eventual (sooner rather than later?) embarking on a career in marketing and public relations.

Caitlin, the youngest in our clan, will be graduating from Waukesha North in a few short weeks. She started in a new job this past week, and restaurant hostessing appears to be a good fit for her and the dining establishment. Her summer will culminate in her moving to dorm life at UW La Crosse and applying her time to class and studies (OK… – Include some social activities as well).

The cumulative effect on me has been somewhat unsettling. My wife and I feel it was just “a couple months ago” that these girls started high school and college, and now they are both graduating 4 years later! We both remember having dinner with a very good business friend and his wife in La Crosse and asking them to act as surrogate parents “in case our daughter needs immediate assistance”. The memories of saying “goodbye” to Kelly that late summer night in 2003, 4 years ago, and driving home from La Crosse, lost in our own thoughts, seem as clear as if they happened last month.

Watching “Little Caitlin” go off to high school was a reality check for us. Caitlin truly enjoyed the “High School Experience” (she learned from her older brother and sister) and maximized everything the Waukesha District has to offer: Full, challenging class loads; loads of interesting extracurriculars; marching band trips; new friendships; and now a “Summer of Fun” before she heads out. Why, her marching band New York Macy’s trip – a very memorable trip, was way back in 2004 !

This year is indeed a “biggie” in my life as a parent. And yes, as most parents will tell you, these years do fly by. Certainly there is no reason to suspect the next 4 years won’t be different and all 3 kids will be out of college. “Empty Nesting” is imminent…It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.

Maybe, lurking just beneath the surface (similar to the fish taunting me at Okauchee?) of my sub-consciousness, there is a sense of the unknown awaiting us as parents and as a married couple. The kids are doing well, progressing, and their dependency on us will (should) wane. Maybe the “dreaded unknown” is really not so much concern for our children anymore as it is an acceptance that time is quickly accelerating by...

OK – Too much introspection for today. Time to go fishing!

“Pssssst….Did ya hear? …Waukesha School Superintendent David Schmidt didn’t get the Appleton job!”

Well, in case you were out of the Country or hermetically sealed in a box, it’s true: David Schmidt will remain in Waukesha – for now. But there will come a time when he retires, or departs for another job, or changes careers. And it’s not wrong to start thinking about that time now.

First: It would be helpful if the next Superintendent candidates cannot read. This would indirectly help the next person by limiting their exposure to criticism only via phone, email with pictures, radio, and word-of-mouth. The lack of volumes of other breaking, exciting, and earth-shattering news leads the press in Waukesha to seize any District shortcoming or mistake as the Superintendent’s fault. Oh, that’s right, we pay taxes, therefore we are their bosses and can, unlike most workplaces, say whatever we want.

Second: The next candidates would be of greater value to us if they are “Internet illiterate”. Ideally they would then, if coming from another area, not be “Googling” Waukesha to educate themselves in advance about the trials and tribulations of our School District. We wouldn’t want them scared-off! And the next candidate’s computer inadequacies would also help avoid future District email controversies…

Third: A biggie! Accept the fact that there is a very real probability that we don’t want the next person seeking the Waukesha Superintendent’s job. Seriously, who amongst us applies for a job with advance knowledge that the prospective company is in serious trouble? Why would it be any different with public education? We could very possibly end up with a sadist whose idea of job satisfaction is cutting budgets and employment; fighting union battles; and hearing (remember – Internet illiterate) from others that they are liars for “telling it like it is”.

Fourth: Don’t allow for travel time for the next Superintendent when they could listen to the car radio and hear the savage, ratings-driven talk radio pundits. These self-serving radio prophets have not found a rock without a greedy, wasteful, ignorant school district hiding under it.

Lastly: I would not want to follow in David Schmidt’s footsteps. David brought a vision to our Community which manifested itself in unprecedented changes and true progress for the students and staff of this District during the last 9 years. His compassion and leadership skills have been recognized beyond the District to include, amongst others, serving as Chairman of the Waukesha United Way last year. Mr. Schmidt’s tenure will be judged in retrospect much more favorably then today’s media piranhas would have you believe.

Now does all this mean we should be cringing when the need for the next School Superintendent arises? Not necessarily…The School Board hit a “Home-run” last time when they hired a virtual unknown and unproven Assistant Superintendent from Appleton. The sheer size of our District will be an attraction for candidates moving up. And, there truly are very good “potential talents” within our District right now.

Now, will someone please pass this on to any future prospective Superintendent candidates?

But give them a hard, printed copy because this is an electronic Blog, and we truly need them to be “Internet illiterate” to survive if things continue “as is”…