An Open Letter to the SWC 833 School Board

Dear Board Members,

We the people elected you to be our voices in the district.  We elected you to stand tall and strong for our kids and be good stewards of the taxes we pay to fund the schools.  We elected you to question, probe, research - whatever it takes for you to understand exactly what your employee, Superintendent Jacobus, and his (mostly due to resignations) brand new cabinet, are trying to convince you to approve.  You are the leaders of this situation.  As such, we the people expect you to do your due diligence when deciding on what should be included in $8 million in cuts from the budget. 

2015-2016 Recommended Budget Reductions and Potential Impacts  

We also expect you to ask why exactly our fund balance has dropped so drastically since Dr. Jacobus has been Superintendent - after all, it was he who introduced the "Budget Matrix" to the district,

"2014-2015 Service Level Matrix"

and eliminated the line item budget process - it was you (or your predecessors) who approved doing so.  We the people respectfully request the return of the line item budget as the Budget Matrix is confusing and difficult to read and understand.  It also muddles the numbers - grouping them together so that the real picture is like a Faux Monet: pretty from a distance but up close all muddled and confusing, only now, the picture isn't pretty no matter how far away one stands.

Furthermore, we the people request that the current budget cuts be scrapped and the process begin again - with the people, not just the administration - Dr. Jacobus, his Cabinet and school principals - involved and with using a line item budget so that every expense has a cost directly connected to it.  No more generalities.  Please show us EXACTLY how much is being spent on each item.  Dr. Jacobus and Mr. Kath have claimed that the Budget Matrix is great for the district because it removes emotion from the process.  We the people disagree: It removes the specifics and allows expenses to be hidden within the formulas.  True transparency would dictate that a line item budget be used for this process, not general amounts with no alternatives given.
We the people believe that schools should be fiscally responsible and good stewards of taxpayer money; however, we also believe that cutting Special Education, Reading Recovery, Elementary Band, Orchestra and World Language and also increasing class sizes are not good cuts; it would seem that those cuts were chosen to inflict the most pain on the people of the district to really demonstrate what "dire" straights the district leaders have put the district into. 

Board Members, please insist that Dr. Jacobus and his lean cabinet go back to the drawing board and rethink the proposed cuts.  Please stand up for the children of the district - that is your job - and insist that increasing class sizes is not an option, that cutting special ed and reading recovery are unacceptable and that band and orchestra are important and should not be the sacrificial lambs of these cuts.  Board Members, please do your jobs and research the options, ask for the line item budget and insist that the administration provide it to you if they want anything approved.  You have the power - you are the leaders of this situation - USE YOUR AUTHORITY and SPEAK UP FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE DISTRICT. 

Sincerely,

We The People

Community Members: click here to give the administration your feedback re: the budget cuts.

Call your Board Members:
School Board Contact Info:

Kath, Ron

School Board Chair

651-769-0291

rkath@sowashco.k12.mn.us

Schwartz, Katie

School Board Clerk

651-347-7656

kschwart5@sowashco.k12.mn.us

Johnson, Laurie

School Board Director

651-387-0427

ljohnson1@sowashco.k12.mn.us

McElwee-Stevens, Kathleen

School Board Director

651-459-5411

kmcelwee@sowashco.k12.mn.us

Witte, Michelle

School Board Director

651-402-3184

mwitte@sowashco.k12.mn.us

Van Leer, Sharon

School Board Treasurer

651-202-3848

svanleer@sowashco.k12.mn.us

Brunnette, Tracy

School Board Vice-Chair

651-321-8449

tbrunnet@sowashco.k12.mn.us

Updated 2/12/15 2:53pm

Sorry, Kids, We Can't Find Enough World Language Teachers...



On Monday, February 9, 2015, the leaders of South Washington County School District 833 held the second public meeting (in a series of three) - called "Budget Conversations" - on their proposed $8 million cuts to the district's budget.  Included in the cuts are Special Education and Reading Recovery services, elimination of all elementary level band, orchestra and world languages, cutting 60+ teachers which will then cause all classes to increase by (at least) one student, and other reductions to "balance" the budget. 

The following video is a question asked as to why elementary world language is being cut, but the Spanish Immersion school is not receiving any cuts.  The response by Assistant Superintendent Julie Nielsen is one that may have readers scratching their heads:

 

 

Ms. Nielsen's response was essentially that the district is struggling to find and retain quality Elementary School World Language teachers, and yet, ironically, they have been able to find enough WL teachers to fill positions in the Spanish Immersion program from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  Also, on the job search website, K12Jobspot.com, SWC 833 has a continuous ad running for Immersion Teachers.  One would have to ask if they have applicants for the immersion program, that perhaps those candidates would also be suitable to use for the other World Language positions in the district?  Or that may just be too much common sense for a district which seems determined to make cuts that hurt the people the most so that the people will give them what they really want: passage of their potentially $200+MILLION referendum next fall.  After all, that does seem to be the district's MO.

 

 

If you are a Licensed Minnesota Elementary World Language teacher looking for a job, perhaps you should contact District 833's Human Resources department and talk to them about employment with the district.  It would seem that they would welcome qualified candidates to their schools since they've had such difficulty retaining teachers.