Stuff in the Echo

            I got the Echo this evening. I was quite disappointed to see that nobody else has written anything in support of saving our school. With so many telling me that they enjoyed the letters that I put in the paper, I was hoping that others would take the opportunity to add their voice as well. I can’t afford to pay the price to the Echo every time a letter needs put in the paper. I see Molumby and Willhite both had lengthy letters, well over 350 words. Any bets on whether they were charged or not? And for the record, what’s with all the “quotes” that these two use? They cannot write a single article without having quotes from someone in it. Eileen Schlawin’s piece several weeks ago had a quote from Henry Ford. I could care less about the quotes of others. I want to know what these guys have to say about us losing our school!

            What’s their answer about the eventual closure of our building in Elgin in ten years or less? I’ve brought it up twice in the paper. Has anyone else noticed their silence on the issue? What about their answers to local control being lost? Not a peep. What about the eventual merger in the future? Again, barely a word. They just say there are no immediate plans. Their silence on these issues speaks volumes. I’m not just crying wolf here. This is what is coming down the road. If we don’t stop it now, it’ll be too late later. I am of the belief that we have just three years to save this school. If we cannot change the board in three years, our goose will be cooked. If nobody takes the effort to stop these guys, then how can you complain about losing your school?

            They like to talk about the future, but their vision is lacking some very important details. Their future involves a school sitting between Elgin and Clermont in the weeds. Their future involves 1250 students being shipped to West Union for school. Their future involves a property tax base that will stretch from Chickasaw County to Clayton County, from Highway 93 north to about Postville. 49% of my property tax bill is for the school. Our voice will be diminished as we’ll have less say about how our money is spent. In their future, all of our tax money will go to West Union. They’ll be the ones to boast about the new schools, and have all the jobs and benefits that come with it. We’ll just be “tax base” for them.

            Do you know why they don’t want Valley to dissolve? If Valley dissolved, the boundaries would be redrawn and different parts of Valley would go to different districts. Wadena very well may go to Starmont or Central. Areas north of Clermont, and maybe even the town itself might just get sent to Postville. Under this WGS plan, the next step is consolidation. In consolidation, North Fayette gets to inherit the entire prize that Valley is. They get every single ounce of tax base and folks, I’m telling you, that’s exactly what the plan is. It’s doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see it. This plan is very insidious. However, if nobody is willing to stand up and fight for this school, then I guess we deserve to lose it. I know it sounds harsh, but that’s the truth.

            KinDee went to the school board meeting last night. She said that there were maybe 5 people in the peanut gallery at most. 5 people! No wonder these guys think they can do whatever they want.

            For those not from the area, there were only two letters in the open forum in this week’s Echo. One is the letter from Duane Willhite which I have already linked to in the WGS articles section of this blog. I bet he didn’t have to pay to run his letter. The other is from Cathy Molumby and is below. I doubt the Echo charged her either. Again, I’d like to know what the hell the deal is with all these quotes that they use………do they really think it makes them sound smart?????

 

Click here for Molumby’s letter.