Some of you readers may be thinking, ?ÄúHere we go again,?Äù when it comes to the latest school referendum. Yes, there seems to be a new one every few years with one district or the other. And it?Äôs that time again.
The sad part is that this is a necessary part of business for schools with their system of payments and reimbursements. In my 17-plus years of covering school boards and other government entities, I have only the barest comprehension of the screwy financing system used by the State of Minnesota to fund its schools. It is unlike any other government or business entity, and certainly unlike household finances. Multiple funds within the district must pay current bills and wait up to
three years for partial reimbursement at fluctuating rates. That?Äôs the simplest way to describe a complex and ever-changing system.
What I have observed in these 17-plus years is school boards struggling to pay current bills, anticipate financial needs and enrollment, and take best guesses at revenues to come (or maybe not) from the State.
With that back story, what I have observed with the current $12 million referendum in the Eden Valley-Watkins district is a board and superintendent who have gone far beyond expectations of transparency and inclusiveness, investigating all options via a community task force, then making decisions based on the needs of the district, particularly when it comes to security and safety of its students. Fiscal responsibility is another heavy burden for the board: they want to avoid a St. Cloud Tech situation with an old building that can no longer be kept up. The 1927 portion of EV-W high school is now 90 years old; it is still good structurally, but there are health and safety improvements that can (and must) be made soon before the building is beyond repair. (Being land-locked, there is not enough land, time, or money to simply tear down the old building and construct a new one; and far too much money has already gone into the new gym and other improvements to the high school.)
It comes down to trust. School boards are elected, by you, to represent your interests. The board and task force agreed unanimously that this $12 million plan includes the most critical and urgent improvements needed within the next few years, and that this is in the very best interest of the district, EV-W students, and the community.
If you trust these individuals whom you elected, and trust the inclusivity and transparency of the process, then you will vote ?Äúyes?Äù June 6. (Absentee ballot info p. 12.)