Letter to the editor: prom and schedules

Letter To the Editor:
With respect of all who are involved in prom and post-prom planning, we want to apologize for this information seemingly not being known until now.  We feel that it is necessary that the correct information, and not rumor, be published since this has now become a public issue. We have created a Q & A to help others understand our thought process during a meeting that was held at the school in September, 2010. As you read this, we hope you will notice the amount of thought that had been put into the decision made last September to keep prom on May 14th, 2011.

Q: Who scheduled prom?
A: May 10th, 2010 the event coordinator at the Rochester Athletic Club (RAC) called a co-chair of post-prom asking if K-M was going to have prom the second weekend in May of 2011. Please note that events such as this must be scheduled and the sites booked a year in advance. The co-chair called the school and asked for the date of K-M’s prom in 2011 and was told it was May 14th. Since the prom date had already been set by the school, the RAC was then reserved for KM for that same day, May 14th, 2011. Of note, K-M’s prom/post-prom date was set in May of 2010, four months prior to the HVL conference track date being set. After the annual HVL meeting held in September, it was brought to our attention by a track parent that the conference track meet and K-M’s prom were on the same day. Also of note, this year is the second year the HVL conference track meet is scheduled as a one day event on a Saturday. Last year, 2010, the HVL conference track meet was held on the third Saturday in May, the 15th. 2011’s date was scheduled and approved at the Annual HVL meeting in September of 2010.

Q: When did K-M start doing a post-prom party?
A: In 1987, post-prom was started by a group of community members led by Janice Borgstrom-Durst. For the past several years it has been held at the RAC. Students have been surveyed to see if they wanted to have post prom at a different location and the answer has always been overwhelmingly “no”. Since then, the importance of having prom and post-prom together, for the safety of our students, has been a priority.

Q: When did prom 2011 become an issue?
A: In September, numerous emails were sent out amongst parents stating their concerns that the HVL conference meet was the same day as KM’s prom. This was brought to our attention and the decision was made to promptly hold a meeting to see what the options were. As this information got out, we were also approached by parents of other student athletes who were concerned that prom would be changed at the request of one sport when that hadn’t been done in the past. The meeting was held in September with members of prom committee, post-prom committee and school leadership. The idea of changing the date was debated.

The limitations were:
·$500 non-refundable deposit
·The location of prom and post-prom were set
·The DJ was already scheduled
·Other available dates for post-prom at the RAC were April 2nd and 9th and May 28th.

1. May 28th was considered to be too late in the school year, may conflict with state events for many sports and it was too close to the end of school and graduation.
2. The dates in April were a concern because of Easter involvement in future years (RAC is not available Easter weekend). The April dates that were available for the post prom party at the RAC were not available at any of the locations to hold the prom dance.
3. The post prom committee offered to not have a post-prom party this year so prom could be moved to any other date that a place was available. Because of student feedback from past years and for the safety of our students, it was felt having a post-prom party was important.
4. Last year the first weekend in April was an ice storm and prom likely would have been canceled had it been scheduled that weekend in 2010. Some people have said it is no big deal if it is a little colder in April, we have also had just as many students say they would not want prom that early.
· Section speech, Solo and Ensemble Regional Music Contest (affected a large numbers of students), State High School League Art Contest and Show in Rochester (has been a conflict every year except last year), State High School Congressional Art Show and Contest (students have come in their prom dress/tux to pick up their awards.), softball, baseball and track have all had events scheduled on prom in the past and the prom date has never been changed. How do you prioritize when prom should and shouldn’t be changed? Should we base it on the number of students it affects? Should we base it on the importance of the event (section vs conference vs state). So out of fairness to all students, we decided it was best to leave as is.

Q: Why not hold prom at the School?
A: The cost of lowering the ceilings and decorating the school is more expensive than holding prom at a rented site and the funds are just not there. Also, volunteers to make an event happen at the school do not match the manpower needed.

Q: Has there ever been other requests to change the date of prom?
A: Yes, area businesses have approached the school and asked for the date to be changed to a day other than Mother’s Day weekend (traditionally the second weekend in May) because it is one of their busiest weekends and student employees were not available to work because of prom. So a group of eight plus parents went to the REC Center and YMCA and discovered they are not large enough to accommodate the number of KM students and their guests, although we are very happy to have that problem! Other considerations were the fire hall or the school but the event would have been more expensive to decorate and rent games and activities than to have it at the RAC.  For the same considerations as above, it was felt the second weekend in May still was best for all KM students. Another important point of discussion was that the community support of prom and post-prom is absolutely necessary and how could we decide that a sport is more important than a local business request?

Q: How many kids attended prom and post-prom in 2010?
A: Approximately 276 students attended prom and 240 attended post-prom. There are approximately 40 track participants for 2011 so we felt there were still 140 KM junior and senior students (does not include guests) that we needed to be considerate of.

Q: Will the HVL conference track meet always be the second weekend in May?
A: We discussed this at length at the September meeting and it was brought to our attention that the change to an all day Saturday event may not even work and that there may not even be an HVL conference in the upcoming years as things may be restructured. So the future of the HVL conference track meet on the 2nd Saturday of May is unknown. Since this issue has resurfaced in the past couple of weeks, an email had been sent to the HVL coordinator who responded that it is set for this year only and the 2012 date will be discussed at the annual HVL planning meeting in September of 2011, and a proposal can/will be made for the track meet not to be the 2nd weekend in May 2012. Only one year is set, it is not set for the next nine years!

Q: Can’t the tradition of having prom on the second weekend of May be changed?
A:  The tradition is not the date of prom but having a prom and post-prom together. This is important not only for the safety of our students but having it at the RAC is their request and after all, isn’t this about the students? By all means, yes, changing the date can be considered.  But because of the above information, we do not feel it is possible to change the 2011 prom date.

Q: What did the group who met in September do to assure no track participant would miss the prom events?
Answer:
1. The K-M Athletic Director went to an HVL meeting and explained the K-M prom dilemma and asked to have the track meet start one hour earlier. This was unanimously supported.
2. We discussed the fact that track participants who want to attend prom can leave the track meet (held in Hayfield) after their track event is over.
3. Possibly a bus could bring track students back or they could ride back with parents.
4. The Grand March will be held later in the evening to allow the track participants to be involved.
5. Allowing those in track to enter the dance beyond the lock down time if necessary.
6. Those who choose to participate in extracurricular activities are always at risk of experiencing conflicts. We discussed that not everyone would have the entire day to have their hair, make up and nails done but feel the importance of prom is as the meaning states in the dictionary, “A student formal dance in celebration of graduation”. All of this conflict is taking away from the purpose that prom should serve: one last chance to all be together before the seniors graduate. Every student will have the chance to participate in prom.
   
Other thoughts:
·More and more schools are choosing the RAC to have post-prom parties because there is more to offer and it is less expensive. Of note, the school who uses the RAC on a certain date is offered that same date the following year. The second weekend in May is reserved for KM until we give it up! 
·If K-M prom is held in early April and it falls on Easter (which will happen again in 2015 and would have happened in 2010 ), we would not have the RAC available which then could potentially mean we do not have a date “reserved” the following year to host post-prom. Again, students are saying they want a post-prom and they want it at the RAC.

We want to thank Janice Borgstrom-Durst for being the founder of K-M’s post prom party and her support and request to be included in this letter.  Janice was contacted and was made aware of the facts above and said she wished she would have had those facts prior to submitting her letter to the editor in the DCI on 1/26/11.

We can assure you; none of us were intentionally trying to discriminate against any track athletes but were trying to make the best decisions for the KM student body as a whole. For those students who have to decide, either this year or in future years, between spending all day getting ready for prom or participating in their sport, as parents, we can help them learn how to evaluate and prioritize choices. This will be a life skill as it is very likely this won’t be the last difficult decision they will have to make in their lives.

Most importantly, we want to thank the support of our community for the funds and gifts donated and for supporting our past Fiesta Dinners, this year’s dinner will be held on March 20th. Please save the date and we hope to see you there!

Addendum: Since this all resurfaced again in the last couple of weeks, all of the work that was done back in September was looked at again, calls were made and the limitations of time and the reasons previously listed in the above letter still hold true, therefore, 2011 prom/post-prom will remain on May 14th, 2011. Let’s please be respectful of everyone’s effort in this matter.

Respectfully submitted, KM prom, post-prom and School Leadership
Cindy Nelson       
Lisa Mundy 

Letter to the editor: school referendum

Letter To the Editor:

It’s been called a BOND issue, school improvement, redesign project and an upgrade project.  What it REALLY is... It is a 21 year mortgage (debt) on every parcel of real estate in the K-M School District.  This debt, IF PASSED, would just be added to other levies, debts and mortgages already in place for the school district, the county and the state. We in the private sector have already lost most of our retirement and the children’s inheritance.

A NEW ENTRANCE, another GYM that seats 1600 and a NEW FITNESS CENTER. Oh yes, ARTIFICIAL TURF too.  How can these highly educated, captains of finance even think of proposing such crap to the public in the name of EDUCATION.

VOTE NO!

Jerry Snow
Kasson

Letter to the editor: school board

Letter to the editor:

I’m a tireless supporter of our K-M school system. It’s the core of our community and our future. I encourage everyone in this community to support the school in every way that they can. We need to ask tough questions, listen carefully, and then apply common sense.

I have learned...by going to school board meetings... the board is not willing to do business openly, or to accept public input. I attended a particular meeting where they made major budget reductions, eliminated a music teacher and changed the requirements for the school nurse, essentially dismissing the nurse. The nurse issue was strategically buried in the budget and even she wasn't aware of it. The other issues were only allowed five comments, for a limited time period, followed by a vote. No questions were answered, the only reply given...after the board adjourned, was that the brevity was necessary in order to avoid taking up too much of the board's time.

I heard about the dismissal of our long time athletic director/dean of students. I visited the superintendent and a board member. The most definitive answer that I got was "We can do better/' Their "better" was to replace the single employee with two separate employees (they had previously eliminated a teacher for budget reasons). The A.D. recently didn't even know that a team was not school affiliated and renting the gym...he ran them off. Our past AD/DS held both positions necessary to have solved the upcoming prom/HVL problem, and I believe he would have foreseen and solved it before it even became an issue. Where is the "better"?

Four nurses, who had all been employed by our school system, came to a board meeting to explain that they all felt bullied by the administration. The superintendent reportedly replied something to the effect that they didn't have a definition of bullying to work with. We are a school system...surely there is a dictionary somewhere! It should never be up to the person accused of bullying to define bullying!
At the last parent teacher conference I was appalled that there are no longer report cards available due to a "paperless" program. The women at the door each had a laptop computer to retrieve the information needed to send us to find the teachers. ($ paper vs. $ two computers?) Teachers no longer had the printout of my child's assignments and grades, so we were not able to discuss any of the important aspects of my child's work that help us to review her progress, to solve problems and identify strengths. I left in frustration while my wife continued to visit teachers. She says that several teachers told her they were also very frustrated and weren't being listened to.

In the newspaper, I learned the naming rights to our athletic field were sold in exchange for a price in excess of a half million dollars. The income from selling the name of OUR athletic field went not to our staff, nor to our building. Rather, it is designated, along with a sizable contribution from our school funds, to install a previously unidentified need-artificial turf!!! I wonder how much good this contribution could have done for the school in some other application, what the future upkeep, repair and replacement cost will be. All to replace that wonderful natural turf that we have carefully developed and which is perfectly satisfactory at any other school where we compete. The superintendent reportedly plans to raise money with the new field. It is going to take a lot of money to replace more than half million dollars in addition to our tax contribution that we could have invested in our PRIMARY business...education. I am an unwilling investor in a business endeavor that I never even knew about. I don't believe in it.

At the newspaper office I reviewed many past superintendent articles and school board minutes. The latest date that I could find in the articles was 2013. Some years ago we built a new elementary school to meet our needs as far into the future as we could project. But it was also built with a plan farther into the future. That building was originally designed to be much bigger than we built, then it was scaled back, rooms were eliminated, but the utilities were kept the same because someday we would need the additional space. When we moved the kindergarten program, the school had been built to accept the addition. We outgrew the classrooms and pulled out those original plans, added those rooms, and continued with a proven plan that was good and full of foresight. The pod design has often been touted as a great design that has served us well.

We hired/elected new leaders but they didn't learn from that great success story. We built a middle school to meet our current needs. Although it is a spectacular building that serves us well now, I have never heard of any plan for when our enrollment exceeds the capacity of this building. I believe that we outgrew the elementary school before the first eight years had passed! Have we followed our leaders down a short sighted path?

I have attended meetings and listened, tried to speak with our administrators, listened to our teachers, and talked to students, both present and past. I have reviewed the information, and thought about the things that I observed and heard. I concluded that our present need is to make a comprehensive plan far into the future. It is completely reasonable to see a plan made to take us at least forty years into the future. That plan could be modified as needed in the future, but for us to continue investing in building modifications and staffing changes without such a plan in place is often wasteful (we just spent a lot of money to rebuild the high school offices, create a secure entry system and reconstruct the visitor parking lot. The paint is barely dry, and they want to move it all to the other side of the building). To have our school directed by a long string of superintendents that come to town, pursue an agenda, and then leave in a few years (we will be paying the health insurance for the last one, for some time to come). To have them directed by a group of people from our community who serve with the best of intentions, but come and go as priorities and elections determine, and who usually have limited or no experience as an educator. When THOSE people run our district THEIR way, often ignoring the public and the teaching staff who have made this school what it is through their lifetime devotion, and when the teachers are so intimidated that they can't even use a piece of paper. It is time to stop the train. Stop it right now, right here, and don't move anywhere until we solve our problems and make a GOOD plan that is supported by the teachers and the community.

The day has come when we need to listen to the voice of experience...the teachers, and to train our superintendent and our school board in the direction that we want them to manage OUR business.  After these problems are all solved, there will be ample time to make any needed changes to our facilities. This is the time to vote a resounding "NO!" To finally get the attention of the people who need to learn to listen to the real professionals who devote their lives to our business, and to us-the owners.

    Jim Brumfield
                Kasson

Letter to the editor: school funds

Letter to the Editor                                                                                      

I am confused…no, I am disappointed…actually, I am upset and have been since 2007.

On Tuesday April 24, 2007 Independent School District 204 (K-M) held a special election authorizing the issue of general obligation bonds in the amount of $5.2 million for the acquisition and betterment of school facilities, including improvements to the elementary school and junior-senior high school.  The issue passed. 

Perhaps you will remember that the purpose of the election was to add classrooms to the elementary school, make improvements to the science rooms at the junior-senior high school and perform some deferred maintenance to our schools.

Let’s look at the issue of the science classroom improvements.  One month before the election, on March 21, 2007, Mr. Grant in his “K-M Update” column wrote;  “The science classroom plan is being planned with flexibility for new classrooms or renovated ones dependent on the success of the middle school vote.  If the middle school plan does not get public approval, the dollars assigned for the renovation will be used for additional science classrooms.  A new middle school would allow present middle school classrooms to be utilized for new science room spaces.” [The middle school referendum was held June 19 and also passed.] 

Again in his “K-M Update” on April 4, 2007 Mr. Grant wrote; “The School Board proposes to modernize the present science classrooms and add new science classrooms.  The degree to which that occurs will depend on whether a new middle school will be approved on June 19.  If a new middle school is approved by the voters, the classrooms in the middle school wing will be converted to new science classrooms.  The present science classrooms would then be renovated for regular classroom use.  If the middle school is not approved, the need for more science classrooms will be accomplished by adding new science classrooms to the high school site and modernizing some of the present science rooms and renovating others for additional classroom use.” 

The language on the printed election ballot was necessarily brief.  However, as I read the aforementioned information before the April 24, 2007 referendum, I assumed that information presented by the District Superintendent in a formal “K-M Update” column printed in the official district newspaper would be an accurate “official” use of approved taxpayer dollars.

Later that year in Mr. Grant’s performance evaluation by the Board, it was stated; “The board was in general agreement the K-M superintendent did an outstanding job in being the primary spokesperson to the public for the two recent successful bond referendums.  Ellingworth said she felt Mr. Grant exceeded his expectations in working with the public and community on the bond referendums and was also outstanding in board relations.  Board member Mark Packard said he believed Grant had a lot of credibility with the public, which was a factor in passing the referendums.”  This evaluation confirms to me that Mr. Grant’s columns were an accurate representation of the board’s official stated use of the referendum dollars.

On June 19, 2007 the Independent School District 204 (K-M) voters approved the middle school referendum.  You can imagine my surprise when the six new classrooms appeared on the west end of the junior-senior high school.  To me that borders on misappropriation of taxpayer approved dollars, ethically at least.

On February 8, 2011 the board will be asking for $8.975 million to upgrade the high school.  Some of the upgrades planned are upgrades to the old middle school wing. Voters, in my opinion, had already approved money for upgrades to this wing in 2007.  A large portion of the 2007 referendum funds appear to have been diverted to build new classrooms rather than to renovate the existing wing contrary to published intentions.

Is there any integrity in our district?  Is there any accountability in our district?  I intend to VOTE NO on any upcoming bond election, and I urge others to also VOTE NO, until there is better accountability of how our tax dollars are spent.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
If your inclination is to vote NO like me, I suggest you make it a priority to get out to the high school on February 8, and make your vote count.  Historically special elections (referendums) do not get the number of voters participating as do general elections.  Many times, I believe, this results in a predicted outcome.  Perhaps this is another indication of our district administration’s integrity.


                    Jerry Berg
                    Kasson

K-M High School Design shows remodeling, new construction

This graphic shows the areas of the high school that would be remodeled and where the new construction would be located if the proposed $8.9 million bond referendum is approved by the voters of K-M School District #204. All of the work would be done on the north and east side of the buildings.

A majority of the project will include a food service area, new and remodeled, kitchen and serving area and storage/receiving at a cost of $1.9 million. The kitchen/cafeteria area will be where the shop and ag rooms are currently located.

The ag and wood labs and vocational rooms would be relocated to an area that was the K-M Middle School. Some of that will be new construction and middle school classrooms will be converted into labs.
The district will receive $6 million in aid for the project and the other $3 million comes in the form of tax impact from the district residents.

For an individual owning a $150,000 home the estimated annual tax increase for 21 years is $50 per year. For a $350,000 home the impact is approximately $117.

For commercial property valued at $200,000 the tax impact is estimated at $108. For ag property valued at $200,000 the impact is $58.  For an individual owning homestead ag property valued at $800,000 the estimate is an increase of $158.

The district intends to hold informational meetings in the future. The special election will take place Tuesday, February 11 at the K-M High School.

The K-M School master plan was done by HSR Associates, Inc. of LaCrosse. The light blue is remodeling and dark blue is new construction. The red line shows where the remodeling and new construction takes place.

Diet Time

This is the time of the year when the weight loss and fitness places go crazy. After all, who didn't consume more food and treats over the holiday?

I was raised to clean my plate and it's not very often I leave the table with food on my plate. Whatever size portion I get in a restaurant, it's gone. At least that's the way it use to be.

The older we get the less we eat. It's that way for me anyway and perhaps that is because we are not as active. I eat more slowly and am not at all shy about requesting a take home box.

I tend to shy away from buffets because I feel obligated to get my money's worth. I can't do that any more either, especially for a noon meal. Fill me up at noon and a half hour nap is a necessity before being able to accomplish anything the rest of the afternoon.

Some of these companies advertising for weight loss on the radio and television try to make the concept  technical and make a person buy the expensive food they sell to boot. I think there are two key ingredients: Change eating habits and exercise! Then you have to deal with the mind over matter issue.

Kasson-Mantorville residents should be the healthiest around. We have two quality workout places in Xtreme Fitness and Anytime Fitness plus Community Education offers many fitness activities. During the warmer months we have the walking/biking trails. I would look into one of these  before ever calling on Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem. Then you have the Adkins diet, South Beach Diet and  soup diet. The list goes on. Beware of any scheme for losing weight that has the word "diet" in it. Watching your diet is more sensible.

Stick with the local offerings and local people who are interested in a healthier you. Don' let those commercials get you down.

DCI needs YOUR input

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Have suggestions? Please share them with us...

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* A special section committed to.....

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