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ElGuapo
GoingGalt, MN
Posted on 10/31/2009 at 10:52:20 AM
The Byron school board, teachers union (BEA) and the VOTE YES committee insist that the reason Byron test scores are so high is because of their great schools, and that is directly related to how well the Byron taxpayer steps up to the plate.
It is a logical fallacy. Correlation implies causation… their logic would imply that more money equals better test scores. If this were true, Minneapolis public schools would be full of Rhodes scholars. Or that US highway fatalities is directly related to the number of lemons imported from Mexico.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/64uqp.jpg
A more likely explanation is that Byron is currently insulated from the type of student demographic that would drag its scores down. If these 200+ open enrollees from outside of Byron were gang bangers or migrant families, Byron Public School supporters wouldn’t be gloating about their great scores.
C_Douglas
Byron, mn
Posted on 11/1/2009 at 1:20:29 AM
I will start by apologizing for the lack of brevity.
I read with interest the story in today’s PB comparing several local school levy requests. It’s interesting that the story notes in the communities other than Byron there are no reports of groups organized against the referendums and in the ZM district, it’s reported that there’s “an enormous amount of positive support”.
Some analysis of the levies in that story (all numbers in ascending order):
Current 2009-2010 Per Pupil Funding including in-place levies
Byron $6291
BP $6761
ZM $7176
RP $7507
MN Avg. $8219
Austin $8276
Current levy
Byron $126
Austin $304
BP $350
ZM $700
MN Avg. $821
RP $840
Note: These above are the levies currently in place that the districts are looking to replace with their new requests.
Proposed increases via levy
RP $100
Austin $227
ZM $250
Byron $378
BP $550
Notes: All of the above requests are replacing existing levies with new ones, so the amount listed is the increase over what’s currently in place. Blooming Prairie is asking two questions and these numbers are putting those two together. Austin is replacing two smaller levies with one that is larger.
Tax Impact/Yr 100K home
RP $35
ZM $65
Byron $78
Avg. $81
Austin $84
BP $145
Note: Average is for the five mentioned districts
Tax Impact/Yr 150K home
RP $53
ZM $97
Byron $117
Avg. $122
Austin $126
BP $217
Note: Average is for the five mentioned districts
Levy after successful passage
Byron $504
Austin $531
MN Avg. $821
BP $900
RP $940
ZM $950
Per Pupil Funding w/ Levy passage
Byron $6669
BP $7311
ZM $7426
RP $7607
MN Avg. $8219
Austin $8503
Note: This number based on 2009-2010 funding levels. Levies would not go into effect until 2010-2011 school year, so actual numbers at that time may vary slightly depending on changes in the state funding formulas.
As I represent the Byron district, I’ll comment on their levy request.
Of the districts in the story, Byron currently has the lowest per pupil funding. It also has the lowest current levy. It has asked for the second highest increase. For tax impact on $100k and $150K homes, it’s right in the middle, and very slightly below average. Should all the mentioned levies pass, Byron would still have the lowest levy in place. Byron would still remain the lowest in per pupil funding.
All of these districts are asking their voters for operating levy increases and they all have their own, particular reasons. These are all very good school districts, and I am not making these comparisons to make them look bad in any way. I applaud the support they get from their voters. We’re blessed that in Minnesota, and especially in SE Minnesota, public education is generally very good compared to the rest of the US. Based on how much this was studied and agonized over by Byron’s school board, I know that the boards in these communities agonized very hard as well. It is NEVER easy to ask voters for a levy.
I know taxes in Byron are high. I pay them too. I’m well aware of all the goings on in the city, having grown up here, and other than college and a few years living in Lakeville, have been back in Byron with my family since 1999. The school board can only control school related things. It has nothing to do with anything going on other than school district things.
I’ve mentioned ad nauseum in various forums and letters the academic successes Byron schools have had in recent years.
All things considered, and based on the school districts in the article, why would one oppose a levy request that has a slightly BELOW AVERAGE property tax increase, to replace the LOWEST levy with one that will still be the LOWEST levy, to provide more funds for the LOWEST per pupil funded district that should the levy pass will still have the LOWEST per pupil funding of these districts?
Why are the voters of ZM willing to have $700 in levies now, and have “an enormous amount of positive support” for a $950 levy, when Byron’s is only $126?
I can surely understand a person’s own situation, and their ability to take any more. And I respect each and every voter’s decision.
I believe the voters of Byron are more than willing to support their school district as much as the voters of Austin, Blooming Prairie, Rushford-Peterson, and Zumbrota-Mazeppa. I believe the voters of Byron will take the challenge to stand up and say, like the voters in these other fine districts, that education is a top priority.
No matter the outcome, what happens is not the school board’s decision, it’s the voter’s.
Please get out and vote YES on November 3.
Chris Douglas
Byron School Board
Sources:
MN DOE
www.education.state.mn.us
Byron
www.bears.byron.k12.mn.us
BP
www.blossoms.k12.mn.us
ZM
www.zmschools.us
RP
www.r-pschools.com
Austin
www.austin.k12.mn.us
Rochester Post-Bulletin
(No web address needed, you’re already here!)
All of the numbers used are from the above sources. If any of these numbers or calculations is wrong, I apologize and take full responsibility. I will gladly make any corrections.
I apologize for the ALL CAPS words. I don’t know how to do that “bolding thingy”.
I also apologize that you can’t just click on the mentioned web addresses and go to those sites. I can’t figure that one out, either.
Yes, it is very sad that I’ve nothing better to do on a Saturday evening.
