Crystal Ball.......

               As you may have seen in the paper, only three people are running for the two board positions, and my wife is the only one opposed to Whole Grade Sharing. I was under the impression that someone else opposed to WGS was running as well, but I should have followed up with that person better to make sure. So, it appears that no matter how the vote goes this September, the board will only have one person at most opposed to WGS. Even if we would have run two candidates and had them both win, we still would have been one vote shy of ending WGS. However, it would have sent a message that people don’t want to see their school consolidated with North Fayette.    

               I guess the best we can hope for this vote is to gauge just how the patrons of Valley feel about losing their school. There can’t even be a valid argument anymore that this will not lead to consolidation. I have shown enough examples on this website, and done enough research to know that Whole Grade Sharing is the tool that is used to ease schools into consolidation. It serves no other purpose. Since consolidation requires the votes of the patrons, and WGS doesn't, then this forces us into what I guess I would term as “consolidation by-proxy” wherein both schools are essentially consolidating, but say that they’re not for the purpose of not alarming the patrons of the school districts, and as it appears in our case, to collect state money that comes along with WGS. Once we are essentially consolidated, the vote will just be a formality in order to make it all official. The proponents of WGS and consolidation will then argue that it will be too costly and disruptive to return to two separate schools. It’ll be all over but the crying. It's funny that they glossed over the disruption and costs when it came to putting the two schools together. What I'm getting at is that they will make whatever argument they need to in order to keep the two schools together. Why? Do you think Mr. Willhite wants to go back to $116,000 or so per year? He'd have to make a major lifestyle change taking that sort of pay-cut. I'd love to play God for just a few minutes and see what sort of plans he has made for his large pay raise. A new car perhaps? Maybe a new home or remodel? Maybe a vacation? Meanwhile, several teachers got the axe to make this WGS a reality.
              Mr. Willhite’s tone in his last newsletter alludes more and more to the reality of where we are heading. He speaks of not wanting to go back to the old ways, and waxes fondly about the old schools that have formed to create the new schools. That’s exactly what is going on here. It’s just a little more secretive now than it was back in the 1950’s. At least back then, the patrons knew what they were getting into.

               What I have been trying to understand is why some people are so happy to throw in the towel and hand the keys of our school over to North Fayette? Do they not understand that we will eventually consolidate, most likely within the next ten years? Is this fine with them? Are they really so unhappy with Valley being a small school? Do they have an inferiority complex where being a part of a small school doesn’t fit their self image of living large?

             Do these people really believe that they’ll have a better say in what’s going on at school once we consolidate? Do they not realize that the 5 school board members who currently represent our district will most likely be whittled down once we consolidate? You’ll have less of a voice and will have to fight the interests of those in West Union and all the other outlying areas. The larger the school district, the less say you have. That’s not even debatable.

             Do they really believe that a consolidated school district will have much to do with Elgin and Clermont other than to suck in their tax dollars and ship their kids to West Union? We’re building that expensive storm shelter out there at the Elgin campus right now. Once consolidation comes, do you think they’ll continue to invest that sort of money into the Elgin campus? Just take a look at their Fayette and Hawkeye campuses for the answer to that question. Everything will be centered in West Union. All major upgrades and improvements will be made in West Union. All decisions will be made in West Union. All the outlying areas will solely be tax base for West Union. They may keep the Elgin campus open for awhile, but it will no longer be a priority. It’ll be a satellite building and be treated as such. It will be closed long before that West Union campus will be. Do you think any administration will be in the Elgin building once consolidation comes? They’re already wanting to hold joint board meetings where? Where else? West Union. Don’t the proponents of WGS see this? If they do, do they truly not care?

              Those of us who live out here away from West Union will be paying for all the jobs, buildings, and other benefits that go along with having a school in West Union. The Elgin campus will eventually look like the ones in Arlington, Wadena, and the numerous other towns who sang the praises of consolidation only to have it leave their town with a crumbling school building which in almost every case becomes a burden to the taxpayers of said town.

               Why are our board members just so hell bent on handing us over to North Fayette? Are we so arrogant that we think we have any sort of future other than being absorbed by North Fayette out of this? Are we really content to have only created a name, school color, and mascot change for handing them the keys to our school? That’s all they will lose. For now, it will be a pain for them sending their 7^th and 8^th graders to Valley, but again, once consolidation comes and they have the expanded tax base, they will push for a central campus. It will all return to West Union. Do our board members not see this future? Do they not care?

               I understand that whole “expanded curriculum” argument. Just how much “extra” curriculum are we getting in return for handing the keys to our school over? Will it be worth it in the long run? Could some parents be supporting this because it will expand our sports programs? Some have quietly wondered if this is the case.

               What is so great about our kids spending extra time on a bus each day? What is so great about larger class sizes, especially in the middle and high school levels? Right now the elementaries are separated, but don’t count on it continuing once consolidation comes. Mark my words. There will be a push for a central campus all in the name of “saving money”.

                I understand why Mr. Willhite is all for WGS. I pointed out right from the start that I smelled a rat and figured he had a financial gain in this matter. I was correct. He will now receive $183,000 per year in salary and benefits. Compare that to your paycheck and then take a look at your property tax bill. That comes out to around $3500 per week. That’s more than most people make in an entire month! Just Mr. Willhite’s wages alone will come to about $140 for each pupil in the consolidated school district. I see others getting pay raises out of this too, and it’s a damned shame since we were complaining that we didn’t have enough money to pay our teachers and had to lay them off or force them into early retirement, but we surely found the money to give our administrators raises.

               Do the proponents of WGS have so much money that they don’t care if their taxes go up? Most of the proponents that I have met come from higher income households. Maybe they want higher property taxes? That’s just what we’re going to get. North Fayette’s taxes are higher than Valleys and once we consolidate, theirs will probably go down, and ours will most likely rise. Is the picture becoming a little clearer? I know why North Fayette is pushing for this, but I really don’t know why we are. It just feels like we have board members who are content killing our school off as long as administrators and other “important people” come and pat them on the back and shake their hands. Give me $183,000 per year and I’d pat you on the back too.

 

               I just don’t understand the other side’s position. I can respect them, but I just can’t figure it out.

 

               It’ll be interesting to see how this vote turns out. No matter what, we won’t have the votes to stop anything. It will tell me where the people of our district stand. I probably won’t write much more to this blog unless KinDee wins a spot on the board. If she does, she’ll be the lone voice for keeping our school K-12. Nothing will be different than it has been to this point.

               Regardless, I will keep this blog up for several years. I will do this for two reasons. The first reason is to prove that what I’m saying here will come to fruition for the most part. It cannot be said that the people of our school district weren’t warned. It was the proponents of WGS who twisted the truth about what WGS is. I have told the truth. It is a tool used to consolidate schools. I said Mr. Willhite would be the superintendent and get a big raise. That too has happened. The rest of what I said will most likely happen too. I can see the handwriting on the wall. I’m fat – not stupid.

               The other reason will be to serve as a warning to other school districts. When WGS was pushed on us, they hit us so fast with it that people didn’t really have a chance to learn about it fully and understand it. A lot of bullshit was pumped down people’s throats and a lot of sugar fed to them to make it taste good. It is my hope that others can avoid becoming victims to this surreptitious process. Every single school that I have found which has ever entered into WGS has ended up becoming consolidated. Not a single school have I found that has ever come back to become K-12. If someone at your school is throwing out this idea of WGS, hopefully the information contained on this site will allow you to understand exactly what the process is and how it works. Maybe you can save your school. It appears that we have lost ours.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                     -Eric

 

Running for School Board

     My wife KinDee is in possession of her nominating papers to run for school board. She has to collect 17 signatures in order to get on the ballot. That will not be a problem. KinDee will run for the board position with the mindset that Valley should remain K-12 and independent. She does not feel that having Duane Willhite as superintendent is in Valley's best interest since a merger with Valley would be in North Fayette's best interest.
     KinDee's first priority will be to try and preserve our school and the jobs and benefits that go along with keeping our school K-12 and independent. It will be an extremely difficult challenge now that the current board has put us in this position of WGS. No school has ever come back from WGS that we could find. In almost every instance, WGS lasts for 10 years or less, and then a merger happens.
     My wife has said that if it comes to a point where a merger is inevitable, she will try and see what can be done about redrawing the boundaries so that outlying areas of the Valley District can possibly re-align with another bordering school district that may better serve these outlying families and students. It can be argued whether or not North Fayette is the best fit for those that live in Wadena, or those who live out near Gunder. This would most likely be done through either dissolution or re-organization. Dissolution or re-organization would be a matter of last resort, but a better choice than a whole-hearted merger where North Fayette ingests the entire Valley School District. A lot will depend on the school board make-up after the next election.
     If you are also interested in preserving our school by keeping Valley K-12 and independent, please consider running for the school board. Papers may be obtained from the district office at the school. Also, please take the time to ask those who are running for the school board where they stand on the eventual merger of Valley to North Fayette. It is imperative that you know where the candidates stand on this issue. Our future depends upon the decisions made at this next election.
 

                                                                                                                                                                        -Eric

$183,000 Payday for Willhite

From the March 27th, 2013 Elgin Echo

 

            If you’ve read my editorial pieces in the paper, you will see where I surmised that this whole ordeal with WGS was preplanned and well thought out. I had heard that Mrs. Molumby had been considering retiring regardless of whether we entered into a WGS agreement or not. I saw the handwriting on the wall. I knew they were going to try to get Mr. Willhite to be our superintendent too. I also wrote in the paper that I had a feeling that he would get a big pay raise out of it.

            Well, as predicted, Valley hammered through an agreement to "share" Mr. Willhite with North Fayette. Then, as I had also suspected, the Elgin Echo reports that between Valley and North Fayette, he’ll be getting a salary & benefit package worth $183,000. Just for the record, that’s a tad over $3,500 per week! His WEEKLY salary will be more than many people in this area make in an entire month!

            I cannot find information on what his exact salary was at North Fayette before this grand scheme. The best I can tell, he made about $113,650 per year or so. I get that information from the district’s financial report card from the Iowa Department of Education website. You can access the database here: http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/cfapps/asr/financereport.cfm When you get to the page that I linked to, choose North Fayette. Look down the page and you’ll see a section called “Licensed Administrators”. They show three administrators (I assume two principals and Mr. Willhite). It says maximum salary (which I assume Mr. Willhite receives) and it lists the $113,650 figure. The last data they show is for 2011, so I assume he has gotten a raise since then.

            Does anyone actually believe that Mr. Willhite will work twice as many hours? Will he be putting in 16 hour days instead of 8? No. He will technically be part time for both schools. Once we consolidate, he will be the superintendent for both schools anyhow. The consolidated North Fayette Valley will have one superintendent, located in West Union. The only difference between that scenario and this one is that he will have one extra school board to answer to – ours – and only until he or his successor completes the consolidation plan.

            So, for having to prepare an extra report for the Valley board, and for having to go to the Valley board meetings, he receives a raise of at least $50,000. What a swell fellow!

            Just think of the teachers that both schools let go to make this “merger” happen. I can just picture Mr. Willhite laughing all the way to the bank. Our school board is complicit in this mess. The North Fayette school board actually gets to pay the guy a little less, but not much. We get to save money on a superintendent too, but now we have a part time superintendent whose mission will be to lead Valley into a consolidation with North Fayette. Then we’ll have to pay the piper, but it’ll be too late!

            Here’s the $183,000 question. Does anyone actually believe this guy will take a pay cut when both schools consolidate? It becomes a lot clearer why this Whole Grade Sharing plan was pushed for as hard as it was, and in the manner that it was. I’ll say it again - it all seems just a little too convenient how everything fell in place.  Neither school was in trouble. It’s all about greed at the top. 

                                                                                                                        -Eric

The Face of Consolidation

          

           I saw this video circulating on Facebook. First, before anyone accuses me of “bad mouthing” anything or anyone – I support what they are doing in Arlington. They have the same problem that we have here in Wadena. We both have dilapidated schools that are sitting there and rotting away. Both are eyesores. In both instances, the schools were left to the towns after consolidation.

            If you listen to the people in this video, they describe the school very fondly and point out that the school was the focal point of the town. They mentioned that the school was used through 1987. I have family in Arlington. I guess I was not aware that it lasted that long, but I do remember it being used when I was a young kid in the late 1970’s.

            I don’t know when Starmont was formed, but I’m almost positive it was pre 1970. That would mean that for at least 17 years, the Starmont school district used the Arlington building. I’m not really sure what they used it for. Maybe this was before they expanded out at their current site? Regardless, it should be a lesson for all of us.

            Starmont is a school with a central campus. Starmont was formed by combining Strawberry Point, Arlington, and Lamont. Each of those towns had their own school buildings at one time. Now, everything sits out there at the Maryville Corners. Did Starmont see fit to keep investing in those town schools and keep those buildings up? No. They did what every school in Iowa does. They moved towards a central campus.

            When those old town schools got old and needed either repair or replacement, they dumped the buildings on the towns and built new at the central campus. Even our very own Valley did this over the past 50 years. Why would anyone in their right mind expect anything less from this new arrangement that we just entered into?

            First off, there will be a push to consolidate. It’s not a matter of if, but when. Once consolidation comes, everything will be based in West Union, not Elgin. Any new buildings will be built in West Union, not Elgin. Just like every other school district, they will use the Elgin campus until it’s in serious need of repair, then abandon it. It will be dumped on the taxpayers and a bond will be raised to build a new school in West Union.

            Watch the video and think about our future at Valley. That’ll be our school in maybe 25 years or so. Maybe you won’t live long enough to see it, but your kids and grandchildren will.

            I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. It’s North Fayette’s future that’s bright, not Valley’s. Our school will slowly fade away and dissolve. West Union will still have the school, the control, the tax money, the jobs, and we will have a dilapidated building to deal with.

                                                                                                                                    -Eric

Reply about busing from Cathy Molumby

               A week or two ago, I put a letter in the Elgin Echo where I asked about those who are open enrolling their kids from Valley to North Fayette. Valley “closed” it’s borders to outside buses. Schools who do this are advised to close their borders to discourage people from open enrolling out. There is this belief that if only they can keep people in the school, they will see that it isn’t “so bad” and they will then choose to remain.

               Since we will be having buses coming back and forth from North Fayette already, I wondered if those families would be allowed to use the bus as opposed to those of us who are open enrolling out and have to take our kids to school at a greatly added expense.

               Mrs. Molumby e-mailed me her response and CC’d it to Duane Willhite at North Fayette. I appreciate Mrs. Molumby sending the message to me and I will post it here for the rest of you. Below is her response, copy and pasted.

                                                                                                                                       -Eric 

Hello, Mr. Durnan,

I thought I would let you know some of the information that you were wondering about as referenced in your letter to the editor in last week's newspaper.

The Board's decision to keep the borders of the Valley district closed at the February board meeting includes all districts.  In fact, as part of the Iowa code guidance regarding Open Enrollment in Chapter 17, specifically 381--17.9(282) Transportation, it specifically outlines that, "Bus routes transporting pupils for the purpose of whole-grade sharing shall not be used to transport open enrollment pupils for the portin of the route that is within the resident district unless the boards of directors of the resident and receiving districts have both taken action to approve such an arrangement."  Hence, the Valley Board's vote to sustain closed borders remain in place even in the whole grade sharing arrangement.

Just wanted to provide you information you questioned in the newspaper.  You can gain information by contacting the school offices as well.

Sincerely,

--
Cathy Molumby, Superintendent

Valley Community School

23493 Canoe Road

Elgin, Iowa 52141

Ph: 563-426-5501 

“The success of change is largely determined by your attitude about change.”  ~David Cottrell "Monday Morning Mentoring"

"The pessimist complains about the wind.  The optimist expects it to change.  The leader adjusts the sails."  ~ John Maxwell

From my daughter......

               My #2 daughter informed my wife this morning that kids in her school think that I am “bad mouthing” North Fayette. North Fayette is a fine school, but when I compare it to Valley, which I am able to do because I have kids in both schools, I can honestly say that I prefer Valley. One of the things that I prefer about Valley over North Fayette is its size. To me, smaller is better. You must remember, I choose to live in Wadena, one of the smallest towns in this area. I like smaller towns, and smaller schools. I’ve had my belly full of being around big towns (Cedar Rapids) and I moved to this area specifically so I could raise my family in a small community, and have them attend a small school. I view WGS as a threat to my ability to have my children attend a small school.

               It wouldn’t matter to me which school Valley chose to WGS with. I would oppose them all as I am opposed to WGS no matter what. WGS is a tool that is used to consolidate schools. I think I’ve proven that on this website as I have cited many instances where other school administrators have gone so far as to admit as much. We were told that WGS was put in place to expand educational opportunity when the real reason was to prepare both schools for consolidation. I find the process entirely dishonest, and it has been my plan to expose the truth about WGS. You don’t have to take my word for it. Read those articles that I have linked to in the section called Whole Grade Sharing leads to Consolidation.

               As far as complaining about how North Fayette buses their kids around, I stand by that statement. I have never seen a school so content to bus kids all over the county. Don’t get mad at me because I see no benefit of a child spending up to 2 hours per day or more on a bus. I don’t use the school as a babysitter. I like having my kids home if they aren’t in school, not riding around in a bus.

               I also like having all of my children under one roof. No matter whom Valley would have Whole Grade Shared with, I would have lost that. By taking my kids to Starmont, I will once again have all of my children under one roof. It’s too bad that I can’t get that at Valley (NFV) any longer.

                I do not want to have my children attend a large school. I like the personal attention that comes along with a smaller school. I have experience with larger schools. It’s not for me. Some will like the new larger feel to North Fayette Valley. I for one, will not be a part of it. That is why I am now forced to send my kids to Starmont if I wish for them to continue their education with the same level of personal attention that they currently receive.

               WGS is the new reality. It is my hope that we can put a stop to this process before we end up consolidated. However, if the people of both North Fayette and Valley choose to continue down this path, knowing full well that it will lead to consolidation, and accept everything that comes along with it, then I accept that. I will strongly disagree though.

               I am probably one of Valley’s biggest supporters. I want to see Valley remain an independent school. I want to do everything possible to see it remain one of the best small schools in the state of Iowa. I want to see jobs remain at Valley. I want to see our school building remain open, and properly maintained. I want to see Clermont and Elgin benefit from having the school there between the towns. Think of the economic benefit the school provides to those communities. I want our school district to keep local control, so that our tax dollars stay here at Valley. You don’t do those things by entering into a Whole Grade Sharing agreement, knowing full well that it will eventually close your school.

               The proponents of WGS are either ignorant as to what their plan will bring, or they truly feel there is no other choice other than set Valley on course towards eventual closure. When I say there won’t be a Valley to hurt, I mean it. By Whole Grade Sharing, we are guaranteeing that our school will eventually be closed. I can’t stand that. It would be different if we were truly in trouble, but we weren’t!

               Before you start thinking that I’m “bad mouthing” anyone or anything, take the time to actually read through everything here. Really take a look at the section where I show all of those instances where Whole Grade Sharing leads to consolidation. Is this really what you want? While I understand the students not caring as much because of their youth, for those of us parents and taxpayers, it’s really a big deal. Many of these kids will grow up, move on, and eventually decide to not live around here. Sadly, that is the truth about today's rural America. You certainly aren’t going to teach these kids to find the value of living and raising their families in our small rural communities when you keep teaching them that bigger is always better. 

                                                                                                                                       -Eric

Commenting Here

               If you’re going to comment on this blog, you’re going to have to put your name. Say what you will, but at least I’m not afraid to put my name behind my beliefs. I’ve gotten a couple of blog comments. On one, the commenter put their name, but when it was published, they withdrew it. Then I get this one this morning from someone who instead of putting their name, they put “Person you don’t know”. Would it make a difference if I knew you?

               At least Al Knox isn’t a coward - and I never said he was stupid. We may strongly disagree on the future of our school, but give the guy credit, he puts his money where his mouth is. I’ve met a lot of people who are against WGS, but many of them are like today’s commenter, afraid to have their name out there. I’ll publish opposing comments, but you’re going to put your name behind them or they'll go in the trash can.

               I’ll also address this “person I don’t know’s” comment. Here it is: 

Person you don't know has left a new comment on your post "Don't Lose Hope!":

Sir i understand if you are upset, but that doesn't give you the right to put this blog on the Internet and badmouthed North Fayette schools. In my eyes the reason Vally haf to WGS with us is because Vally were in a lot of debt and needed a a solution. For them North Fayette was there solution because we were interested in WGS with them. They turned to us not because they wanted to, they had to other wise they were gonna have to close there school. So again if you are upset about what is happening then you go to the board meetting and you voice your opinion. I am happy for you that you are concerned for your school, but does that really give you right to do all this and Mak NF look bad, no it does not.

 

               I copy and pasted word for word. I am not making North Fayette look bad. If anyone makes North Fayette look bad, it’s North Fayette. I have children at North Fayette. I have children at Valley. I prefer Valley. I have always felt that Valley gives more personal attention to their children. I guess I’ve always attributed that to Valley having smaller class sizes. That’s something that we will both lose once we WGS. Class sizes will triple for our students, and be half again as large for North Fayette students. Am I not entitled to oppose that? Am I not entitled to complain about how North Fayette buses MY children all over the countryside, and oppose any plan to include the three kids who live with me from being subjected to longer bus times?

               I would also like to dispel this notion of us being in financial trouble. We were not in any danger of closing. Our board president called the move “proactive”. If anyone needed this WGS arrangement, it was North Fayette who had an infrastructure problem. My eldest daughters are currently in North Fayette Middle School. Geeze, you lost the Junior High building there by the court house and ever since, you’ve been shuffling those kids between Fayette and West Union. Why haven't you built a new building? Money. That’s why. By WGS with Valley, North got an instant solution to their infrastructure problem. The problem is, it will lead to consolidation. I’m not opposed to helping someone out, but losing your own school in the process is another matter. Then, once consolidation comes, there will be a greater tax base, and I’m willing to "bet the farm" that a push will be on to build a central campus in West Union. I don’t want to pay for that. I like the building we have right now. I like the smaller class sizes that we currently enjoy. I like having lower taxes than North Fayette. Mine are high enough as it is now! In the end, neither schools needed to WGS. North Fayette needs to build their Middle School and Valley needs to be content being one of the best small schools in Iowa.

               My wife has been to the board meetings. I have spent quite a bit of money opposing WGS. I’m not going to quit opposing it until it’s too late. WGS is the new reality. I’m not oblivious to that fact. I have not been able to find a single school which has come back from WGS. Every school that has ever entered into a WGS agreement has eventually consolidated. I was unable to find out if there are any schools who have been in a perpetual state of WGS, but generally, most schools have consolidated within ten years. Is consolidation what you really want? Does misery really love company?

               One of my biggest beefs is that when WGS was being pushed to both schools, the people were told that the contract was only for 3 years, as if it’s not a permanent solution. Even Duane Willhite put in his letter that there were no immediate plans for consolidation. In other words, the message they were sending to those of us who oppose consolidation - Don't worry. What they weren’t telling anyone publicly was that there was absolutely no intention of us ever going back to 2 separate schools. The purpose of this blog is to tell people the truth. It’s to show them what WGS really is. If after reading this blog, and learning about what WGS really is, you still think this is the right move, then so be it. We’ll have to agree to disagree. Don’t blame me for being upset that we were sold a bill of goods which was terribly misrepresented.

               Next fall there will be another school board election. There will be people at Valley who will run opposed to continuing WGS. If the people of Valley still elect pro WGS after knowing exactly what WGS is going to do to our school, then at least I can live with the fact that the people are getting what they want. We were never asked if WGS was what we wanted. That decision was made by 11 people (7 North Fayette board members and 4 Valley members). The school board election will be people's first chance to vote for their future.

 

                                                                                                                                                      -Eric

Reasons to Oppose WGS

1. Larger class sizes. This cannot be disputed. Valley and North Fayette will have a combined enrollment of about 1250 students. While the elementaries will currently be separated, the middle school and high school will be housed together.

               Oelwein CSD by comparison has a student body of 1280 students. If you want to know what kind of class sizes your children will face, look no further than Oelwein. Oelwein is the 88^th largest district as far as enrollment in Iowa out of 352 districts. North Fayette Valley would become the 90^th largest district in the state. We would be larger than Allamakee Schools (1207 students), Algona (1199 students), Hampton-Dumont (1199 students), Iowa Falls (1087 students), New Hampton (1003 students), Aplington Parkersburg (842 students) and the list goes on. (Source; CLICK HERE).

               Starmont and Postville each have about 600 children. Central has about 400 children (same as Valley). This is my biggest beef with this Whole Grade Sharing. This isn’t a case of 2 schools with 250 kids making a school of 500. 1250 kids is a very large school, much larger than I care to send my children to – and this is the biggest reason that I open enrolled my children out. My daughter Jenna is in the 5^th grade this year, and next year she will be in middle school. Next year she would be thrown in with all of those extra kids. This is why this will be the last year my children attend Valley.

              
          Bigger is not better. We’re educating children, not raising hogs.

 

2. Increased bus times. Again, this cannot be disputed. Children from Alpha, Hawkeye, and Fayette will have it the worst. It takes about 40 minutes to drive from Alpha to the Elgin campus by car. Add in all the extra time that taking a bus involves, and you can see how your child from Alpha can expect to spend 2+ hours per day on a bus. Why don’t they put teachers on those buses so that the kids can have some education time while they ride around the countryside?

3. Geographic Location. This goes hand in hand with #2. Those of you who live in Elgin or Clermont will really notice the difference. No longer will you be able to enjoy a < 3 minute trip out to the school for your High Schoolers. Now you will have to drive about 15 minutes.

               No longer will you have one stop shopping for school conferences if you have multiple children in school. If you need to pick your kids up from school early for any reason, you have to go to two separate schools now. This convenience that you have enjoyed all these years will be lost.

               For those of us from Wadena, it’s much worse. The High School campus in West Union is just about 15 miles away (vs. 11 for the Valley campus). North’s High School is on the opposite side of West Union, so it takes a few minutes to drive through town. By contrast, the Starmont campus is 11 miles away, and there’s only one stop sign between here and there. Central is about the same distance as West Union, but with Central, Postville, or Starmont, you get the convenience of one stop shopping.

               Even the Iowa School Board Association mentions that geography should play a role in where your children are educated. This is the same association that our WGS friends keep mentioning while pushing this WGS arrangement. CLICK HERE to read the statement. 

4. Whole Grade Sharing leads to Consolidation. Those who are for WGS will tell you that this is speculative, but it’s really not. They know that if you knew what was to come next, that you would fight like hell against this plan. Don’t take my word that WGS leads to consolidation. I have created a post where I am working on putting up all the instances I can find where school administrators and others have been honest about the real purpose of WGS. CLICK HERE to read it. If this were a case of two small schools coming together to make a normal sized school, it may be different. However, we’re talking about taking two average sized schools and making a very large school. In fact, we’ll be one of the largest schools in this part of the state. Large schools may offer more class variety – but they also have a lot of problems that are inherent with schools of a large size. First, you lose true local control. You have fewer people representing a much larger area. In large schools, parents generally have to form organizations in order to get recognition from their school board. Cedar Rapids right now is losing children in droves to the smaller surrounding schools, and a lot of it has to do with personal attention. I grew up in Walker, which is just north of Cedar Rapids. I know people who live down there and I know what problems they are facing.

               Once consolidation comes, our Elgin campus will be in jeopardy. This is for reasons that also cannot really be disputed. Imagine a consolidated school district for one moment. There will be somewhere between 7 to 9 school board members. No longer are we separate schools, but one. Look at the Iowa School Boundary map by CLICKING HERE. Do you see how Valley and North Fayette mirror each other? Imagine that as one district. Where do you think the center of that district will be? If you guessed West Union, you win a cigar!

               Almost every school that I can think of tries to create a central campus for financial reasons. North Linn just finally completed creating one central campus by placing their elementary schools out at the Middle and High School. They moved the Middle School out there back in the mid 1990’s. Before that, North Linn had 4 school buildings. Now they have one large one. Walker and Coggon (where the two elementary buildings were located) now each have an empty school building to deal with like we have here in Wadena.

               East Buchanan has had a central campus for some time. Before I started kindergarten, I believe they were still using the Aurora building. I went to school there back when they held K-3 in Quasqueton (Quasky). They used to send 5-12 up to Winthrop. Everything is up at Winthrop now.

               Let’s not forget. When Valley started, they used the Clermont school for some time. I wasn’t around then, but I believe they used the Elgin building as well. Did they use Wadena? No matter whether they did or not, eventually, we moved to a central campus. It’s how it works. It saves money and decreases busing expenses. You won’t be shipping kids from the western fringes of the district to the eastern fringe. Everyone will just go to the center. Think of why most county seats are generally placed towards the center of each county. The same holds true with schools.

               There is no reason to believe that once consolidation comes that there won’t be a push for a Central Campus. The new school will cover a vast territory, and as such, will have tremendous transportation expenses. They will also have a very large tax base at their disposal. It’s doesn’t take someone being very creative to see the handwriting on the wall. After consolidation, we won't have the votes on the board to save our Elgin campus should they decide to close it and build a new school in West Union. It'll be all over but the crying. 

               Yes, maybe it is slightly speculative to say that this will all happen, but consider this. If you smoke cigarettes, you’re told that you’re probably going to get cancer and die. Is it true that everyone who smokes will end up with cancer? No. But we still warn people, don’t we? We even put Surgeon General’s warnings on packs of cigarettes. There’s even been a push to put photos on packs of cigarettes to help drive home the point. Maybe that’s what’s needed here?

 

               There are many other reasons to oppose WGS. As you can see, it’s not about prejudice or fear. Well, maybe fear, but only fear in the sense that those who support WGS may actually succeed in dooming our current school towards closure. Using the word “fear” to label your opponents is a powerful tool. My grandfather went to Germany and fought against a bunch of people who accused the Jews of being fearful of change. Just remember, not all change is good. Not all fear is bad. 

               Finally, the question has to be asked – when will we be satisfied? How big is big enough? Where does consolidation stop? Will school expansion only be limited by how far we can bus our children in a day? When the Elgin, Clermont, and Wadena schools consolidated, I don’t believe they ever imagined that this day would have come. The very same arguments are being made today that were being made back then. What’s next? In 50 more years will we go to a county wide school system? After that, will we go to a college system where we have about 20 campuses in the state where we ship our kids? Since those back 50 years ago probably would have laughed if you would have suggested this was going to happen, I have to ask these questions today. When will it stop? Again, this is about educating children, not raising hogs or cattle. Evidence suggests that smaller may very well be better when it comes to education. One thing is for certain. Once we lose our school – there is no getting it back. Just because you see everyone jumping off the bridge doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do. Use your brain. Think about the consequences of our actions. Do we really want to risk losing our school? I say we learn to live within our means and continue being one of the best small schools in the entire state of Iowa.

                                                                                                                                                      -Eric

Powder Puff Blue

            It appears that the colors were decided on for the new school. If you listen to Al Knox, Duane Willhite, Mark Howard, and Cathy Molumby – we’re still the same school. Funny how if we’re the same school that the colors, name, fight song, and many other aspects have changed. Are you sure we’re still the same school?

            Anyhow, I’m being sarcastic. The colors chosen for the new school are Black, Columbia Blue, and Silver. I didn’t know what Columbia Blue was. It also says that Columbia Blue is Pantone Columbia Blue 3 (Pantone 292). I looked it up. I can describe it much better for you. It is powder puff blue. It’s close to the color that the UIU Peacocks use. You can see the color if you click on this link; CLICK HERE.

            They’re looking for a new logo. When I think of a TigerHawk, I think of the Iowa Hawkeye TigerHawk that graces the sides of the football helmets. I know some schools in Iowa also use this logo, although they probably have special permission to do so. Hayden Fry designed that TigerHawk. I’m not being a smartass, but it’ll be interesting to see what people come up with. I remember at North Linn when they added the tufts to the ears of the Lynx. That didn’t go over well! I see they have the tufts now, but the logo looks much better than the one they presented in high school. I do sincerely hope that they two schools come up with a neat logo. I’ll still fondly remember our Valley Tiger, and fight to bring it back by trying to bring our school back.

            You can read about the contest by clicking this link; CLICK HERE.

 

                                                                                                                                    -Eric

Mr. Knox's Echo Letter and My Responses

               Mr. Knox from Clermont recently had an article in both the Elgin Echo and West Union paper. He went so many directions in his letter that I couldn’t possibly afford to cover all the insinuations and jabs that he took upon those of us who oppose WGS. I actually get charged for the letters I put in the Echo.

               Below is a copy of his letter. His words are in blue. I add my commentary in red. I know several of you live outside of this are and are watching all of this from afar, so I will also put a scan of his letter from the Echo up for you to see the original by CLICKING HERE. 

                                                                                                                                       -Eric 

To the editor:

To the parents, students and other members of the Valley community:

            As a parent, we are faced with many decisions regarding what is best for our kids. Sometimes our decisions make the kids happy. Often, they do not. And sometimes, we are so convinced that we know what is best for our kids that we miss the obvious best choice due to our own prejudices and fears. (I am not prejudiced. I have children who attend North Fayette. I am informed. I am only afraid that people like you will succeed in killing our school off) It is these decisions that come back to haunt us as our kids go through life. (So will closing our school) Parents of Valley students have told me they are having many discussions with their kids about the North Fayette Valley Whole-Grade Sharing Agreement. (Same here, but obviously not the same ones as you)They have asked me what I think about it. As a former student, bus driver, teacher and board member, as a current resident of the Valley CSD, and as a grandparent of a youngster entering Valley Preschool; I am pleased to be able to share some thoughts. (Enlighten us!)

            To the parents and to the kids who are discussing where to attend school next year, I ask you to consider the following:

            Valley CSD and the North Fayette CSD are schools with excellent academic reputations. (True)  It was the desire of the boards of these two school districts to not let the academic programs of these two fine schools decline due to budget shortfalls. The financial problems resulted from decreasing enrollment and inadequate state funding. (Enrollment isn’t all that much different than before. The budget problems face all schools. They are working in Des Moines on this issue. The problem is a short term problem, but we’re making a long term decision – one that jeopardizes the independent nature of our school. The proponents of WGS are doing so because they want to – no other reason. Neither Valley nor North Fayette were in any real trouble or danger.) The decision to explore WGS was based on the desire to maintain academic excellence for the students. (Valley had no problem with academic excellence. From the Valley website: “Data analyzed between 2004 and 2007 regarding freshman attending the three State Universities indicated Valley’s graduates had an average Grade Point Average of 3.24, hence ranking Valley Community High School as 13th high school in the state of Iowa of high student achievement.” CLICK HERE to see the web capture with this part highlighted. See comment above. They decided to WGS because they wanted to, not because there were any real problems. Remember, Mark Howard called the move “proactive”). The 160 members of the community who participated in the process produced a comprehensive document allowing the two schools to maintain an excellent educational program for the students. (Who picked these 160? Who were they? I never heard about it.)

            There were no ulterior motives or secret discussions involved in any of the decisions made by the two school boards. Both boards have members who have students in school who will be impacted by WGS. Both boards have members who love their respective schools and communities. They love their kids and grandchildren. There is no reason to think that any one of these fine people would support any decision that would be bad for their kids or grandkids. (It doesn’t mean that they always make the correct decision.)

            Determining where to send your kids to school is a huge decision. This is probably the single most important decision you will make as a parent, other than matters of health. To make this decision based on athletics or your own personal fears or prejudices (Again with the “fears and prejudice” B.S.) may mean that you are missing the obvious best choice for your child. (Who says that North Fayette Valley is the best choice for my kid – you? I say the best for my kid is a smaller school with smaller class sizes) This is that moment in your life as a parent that you have to step back and put away your own fears and prejudices for the good of your children. (Why doesn’t Mr. Knox step back and let those of us who actually have kids in school make this decision? He had his time. He got to raise his kids how he saw fit. I am doing the same). It is inconceivable to me that a parent would send their student to another school without first knowing exactly what the educational program was in that school. (We toured the other schools and spent a lot of time before making our decision. The other schools have fine programs as well. Yet, Mr. Knox would have you trust him and his friends for making the correct choice for your kids). The reality is that North Fayette Valley will offer an excellent educational program in outstanding facilities. This is about as good as it gets in northeast Iowa. Take a hard look around. Think about your kids' education first and only. (That’s why I’m leaving Valley) Make the decision based on what is best for their educational future. (Postville, Starmont, and Central are wonderful schools.) Very few of our kids will have their future lives determined by how many minutes they play in a high school athletic contest. (An obvious jab at Mr. Orr).

            Open-enrolling your kids to any neighboring school guarantees where they will be going to school for one year. The neighboring schools have the same financial problems as North Fayette and Valley and will make the same decisions regarding WGS within the next two or three years. (Who told you this? I spoke to both Central and Starmont. Elkader has looked at WGS, but told me that they are trying everything else first in order to preserve their independent school district. Starmont isn’t even close to entering into a WGS agreement. Did you speak to the superintendents of these schools like I did?) Consider sending your child to Guttenberg, Garnavillo or Oelwein. Does that make sense as a parent?(Neither does West Union. It’s further away from Wadena than Starmont by about 5 miles) With the North Fayette Valley WGS agreement, you know where your kids will attend school for the next three years. That is a very big deal. (My decision is long term unless we can save Valley).

            And I struggle to understand why a parent would send their Valley student to a neighboring school because "they won't know anyone at North." (I know plenty about North) The reality is that their friends will be at North Fayette Valley with them and the K-8 students will be at the same Valley school they already know but with some new friends. lt is all good if they stay at NFV.(Mr. Knox’s opinion. My kids will be just fine at Starmont as well) Sending them to another school does nothing to guarantee that they will have friends and/or not face bullying and other problems. (My kids already have friends who attend both Central and Starmont. This will not be a problem) Sending them to NFV assures they will be with the large majority of their friends. 

            And finally, I am confused when a parent talks about how much they love the Valley school and how good it has been for them and their kids and then decide to open-enroll their kids to another school. This act takes money out of the Valley School and makes the effort to keep Valley Community School District open that much more difficult keep preschool through eighth grade at the Valley facility. (What about those kids open enrolling to North Fayette Elementary? Valley should have taken this into consideration when they entered into a whole grade sharing agreement. If they had polled the parents, they would have seen this coming, but alas, the parents were never polled!) I see a stronger Valley Community School District. (There will be no Valley. Only on our tax bills will we see the name Valley. It’ll be North Fayette Valley. Our children won’t graduate from Valley. They’ll spend four years in West Union and their photos will hang there. Whole Grade Sharing guarantees that Valley will one day no longer exist) I don't see how taking kids and dollars away from what you love is any type of solution. (Nor is putting Valley in the position of consolidation) I would ask that you think about your true reasons for open-enrolling your kids to another district. It is not about loving Valley. (Correct. It is about keeping my kids in smaller class sizes, under one roof, and closer to home than West Union.)

            The Valley Community School District is a very good school that faced a difficult decision. The Valley board made the decision that provides the best educational opportunity for the students. (That can be argued) Take the time to look at the current program offerings at North and at Valley. The North Fayette Valley WGS agreement gives the students excellent choices to prepare for their future. As a parent, the educational opportunity should be the basis of your choice of a school for your kids.

            Parents, grandparents and other good folks of the Valley community need to step up and speak out for what is best for kids. (And many of them are saying to keep our school!) It is time to set aside our frustrations, upsets, fears and prejudices and support what is truly best for our kids. (And many of us believe it’s keeping our school!) We need to take a deep breath and rationally discuss the true choices based on educational opportunities that are in front of our kids. The large majority of us believe that the NFV WGS agreement is the best solution for the kids and our communities. (I wouldn’t call it a majority. There are a lot of people believe that this is the wrong move as well.) We are a good and strong community. We will do-what is right, just as we have through the 5o+ years since Clermont, Elgin and Wadena all had independent school districts. (School board elections are next fall. I look forward to them.)

And we will do it together! (No, we won’t.) 

Thank you,

Allen Knox

Clermont