ACGC board expected to decide Monday about four-day week

Denise S.
Atwater, MN     03/21/2010 11:27 PM

Unless the state of Minnesota is going to give out the money they promised to our schools the schools are going to have to get real creative with their financing! This is not the fault of the Board or the Administration! This falls souly on the shoulders of the govoner! Because of his actions our school and many others are in financial trouble! We need to stand up to the govoner and tell him what he needs to do for our state and not how he needs to do things for his race to the White House!

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Randy O.
Hoffman, MN     03/21/2010 10:39 PM

Great comments Denise, it's great that your support of A-C-GC is as strong as it is. Keep in mind, a 4-day week doesn't have to be permanent either That's a decision that's easily reversed. You're not adding facilities or shutting down a school, or making other drastic decisions that cannot be undone.

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Denise S.
Atwater, MN     03/21/2010 10:16 PM

Truth of the matter is if this 4 day week doesn't pass and the money can't be saved the school will be back in SOD in 2 years or so. The funding needed to save the school needs to come from the state that has withdrawn a huge amont of money out of the school system. Don't get me wrong...I was not for the 4 day school week for a variety of reason's, but if I have to choose between losing the school or going in this direction I choose to save the school my children go to. Yes the money would come from all the programs our school has. The children would be subjected to bigger class sizes and less personal attention. I think that this is the way that the school needs to move for now. Would you rather have your child shipped to Willmar, Litchfield, New London, or even Bold...Nothing against these schools, but I want my child going to the school I chose for them 8 years ago! I support anything that will keep my school going and keep my children from losing out!

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Sarah K.
03/21/2010 6:07 PM

Randy - I don't disagree with you. The levy failures are a clear indication that the voting population won't pay more in taxes to support the school. Budget cuts are the only other way to balance a budget, and it seems odd that parents in the district want it both ways - no higher taxes, no cuts in programs or spending. I would be interested to know how the school plans to handle the finances if this gets vetoed. Can it continue to operate? For how long?

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Randy O.
Hoffman, MN     03/21/2010 5:03 PM

Sarah, I'll repeat what I've said many times before, Maccray passed a huge tax increase after they went to 4-days. They know that a 4-day week doesn't fix all budget woes, but it can be part of a solution to budget deficits. Notice I said "can be part of".. the people of A-C-GC need to speak up. After barely getting a property tax hike passed (an unheard of 4 failed votes in a row) recently, the leadership of the district knows that higher taxes are not an option. When budget cuts happen, the public needs to sit down and accept it. Further tax hikes are not an option.

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Sarah K.
03/21/2010 4:54 PM

Clearly, any first-grade student that is up doing homework until 9:00 or later didn't START doing his/her homework until later in the day, perhaps after supper. Time management at home is not anyone's issue other than the parent(s) of that child. Yes, $64k is about 2 teachers in a district. So, perhaps the district could cut out two teachers in the lower grades and have 40+ students in each classroom. Does that make it better for everyone involved? I'm willing to bet that most parents would not like that option, either, but something has to give. By cutting one day per week of transportation and utility costs for the building(s), no single group is suffering. Or, everyone's taxes can go up to share the burden equally. That doesn't seem to be a very popular option, though.

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Ben C.
03/21/2010 2:12 PM

Lynn you running for School Board this year at NL/S?

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nae s.
Atwater, MN     03/21/2010 2:09 PM

I have a friend from the MCCRAY school district that have said their 1st grader comes home and has homework to do unitl 9:00 or later most days. Now after a 10 hour day how is this helping the students? I know we have to cut spending but isn't there another way?

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Randy O.
Hoffman, MN     03/21/2010 2:02 PM

One perspective is, $64K in savings equals almost 2 beginning teachers.

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Sarah K.
03/21/2010 9:12 AM

Has the district said what the alternative is if the $64k can't be cut from the budget? Do sports get cut, or all music programs, or anything else? What happens if the $64k can't be saved by cutting a day of school?

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