Posted 8/15/01 Aww, who cares? By Jason Sileo The lack of attention on and respect for the value of a solid educational platform is becoming increasingly disturbing for educationís hardiest proponents ñ many of whom are wracking their brains in an effort to figure out just when the rest of us became so apathetic and disinterested in our schools and thus, by association, our impressionable youth. When did we, in percentages ranging locally from 34 to 55 percent (give or take), stop caring about the effective education of youngsters and the schools they attend nine months out of the year? A great number of disturbing trends are emerging in our society, not the least of which is an apparent disregard for the importance of properly educating our townís, our stateís and our countryís youth. Consider: Just 36 percent of the eligible voters with children in the North Branch schools bothered to cast a vote in Mayís referendum for the construction of a 1,000-student elementary school in the city. Fewer than four out of every 10 parents of school-aged children cared enough to sign and seal then return their postage-paid ballot... fewer than four out of every 10 cared to offer their input into their own childís educational future. Administrators and other school officials have been exceedingly kind, publicly, in their assessment of this apparent apathy. To say that six of 10 parents in this district are ëdisinterestedí in their youngstersí educational best interest is perhaps putting it lightly. Other results from a recently released, post-referendum survey of 300 eligible voters included: 50 percent of the respondents cited the proposed tax increase as a factor in their decision to vote against the referendum; of the 36 percent of the parents who did vote, just 63 percent voted in favor of constructing the new building; some 34 percent of those polled ìliked nothingî about the proposal for a new building and simply ìdid not care what the needs of the district were.î The school district estimates about 45 percent of all eligible voters cast ballots in the May referendum. That leaves nearly six in 10 people who simply ignored their right, their privilege and their democratic responsibility to vote. Voters obviously have every right to vote ëno,í no one is arguing that point ñ but to completely disregard a public question of such magnitude outright seems borderline criminal. We hire and pay capable and experienced administrators, and elect intelligent school board members to make decisions about what is best for our kids ñ and we shun those individuals, call them greedy and throw our ballots in the trash with our nose in the air when they bother to tell us what they think is in the best interest of our kids. We donít like what we hear, so we shoot the messenger and go back to huddling quietly and goat-eyed around our televisions. North Branch school officials have not raised these building space issues for sport, for good times or for lack of anything better to do. It would be a grave misunderstanding to believe they do not have other things to worry about. College students frequently enjoy better professor-to-student ratios than those North Branch School District officials are being forced to contemplate locally. The options available to local decision makers in the absence of a new school are few, are inadequate, and are far from ideal. Educators everywhere are reeling from slight after public slight, and nobody really knows why. The state has followed suit in its own manner, hacking public educational funding out at the knees and likely sending hordes of qualified, talented school teachers fleeing this state in search of available jobs and appreciation. A teacher with two yearsí experience in a neighboring school district and better than five years of full-time teaching experience was recently passed over in order that the district could hire a recent college graduate with a lone year of student teaching experience instead. When did we decide a teacher was too experienced for his or her post? Was this decision financially motivated? Almost certainly, and it is extremely unlikely this case is an isolated one in Minnesota. When did a dollar in the back pocket replace quality up front? School officials in North Branch are now mulling over that very question. They are a resourceful, dedicated and resilient lot and they are busy trying to determine what, in the best interest of their young charges, to do next. How, they ask, can we have received votes from just 36 percent of our studentsí own parents? When, they wonder, did material possessions such as boats and snowmobiles, gas-guzzling SUVs (most often devoid of passengers as well as cargo as their drivers traverse paved roadways) and cell phone signals become so much more important, in terms of taxpayersí personal finance considerations, than up-to-date technology, chalk boards, text books, rulers and (classrooms with fewer than 40) desks? To the stateís credit: early indications from the districtís tax and finance gurus indicate the price tag on our childrenís education will go down substantially this year in Minnesota. Education taxes on a $125,000 home, according to these initial projections (delayed this year primarily due to the Legislatureís own spring struggles), are likely to be down in North Branch from last yearís figure of about $550 to an estimated $310. School officials think they may have a case for asking voters again, this November, about the construction of a new school building: taxpayers in the North Branch School District could finance a brand new, 1,000-student elementary school and still enjoy a drop of about $100 on their school tax bill this year. No one is holding their breath. While the school board members may decide to seek another referendum election in November on these premises, theyíll also be developing a contingency plan for what to do to confront serious pupil per classroom space issues in the North Branch schools if and when the as-yet hypothetical election fails. If six of every 10 parents decide they donít care where their child sits to learn ñ be it a classroom, a broom closet, a garage, a leased mobile home or a teacherís lounge ñ then, as North Branch Superintendent Dr. Robert Stepaniak put it last week, ìWe donít have a prayer.î ©Post Review