One of our most basic freedoms is our freedom of speech. Yes, we are free to speak our minds. We are not however free from being offended. With that great freedom comes responsibility for ones actions and words. Remember as you are attacking others for disagreeing with you, they are also human beings.

I applaud both sides in the vote on the levy. The issue I have is with those who could vote but didn’t. It is not only your priviledge to vote, it is your civic duty. Gee, I actually learned that one in ninth grade civics from Mr. Keith. How bout that? I personally am not as interested in how someone votes as I am in that they vote. I may not agree with the outcome of a vote, but if you didn’t vote and then complain, shut up. You have given up your true ability to complain because you didn’t voice your opinion with your vote. You wasted it.

We all know the schools are losing funding and that there are many things in our schools that are wrong. Complaining about it won’t solve the problem. If we are not going to vote for a levy, then we must figure out how to fund our schools other ways.

People, please remember, your school board, state and federal senators and representatives, judges, and presidents work for you, not the other way around.

We talk so much about when a teacher does a poor job of how we get rid of them. How about when a politician does a poor job? We continue to allow them to keep their jobs and continue to do a poor job. We need to develop the attitude of you have this term in office to do the job. If you do, we will re-elect you. If not, we will fire you and hire someone else. I personally don’t care which political party you are, I care what kind of job will be done for us, not to us.

I’ve said enough now and will probably be slammed for saying it. Have a blessed and wonderful holiday season!

I just don’t understand why when that portion of the population is so large, they do not get their way. Oh wait, they have gotten their way! In the past few years, the extracurricular has taken repeated cuts to help balance the budget of the school. But they would not know that, because their children do not participate. So they do not know what the kids that do participate have had to sacrifice and the additional costs that have been passed on to the families. From what I have been told, athletics will get nothing from this newly passed levy. Therefore, this should not have even been an issue brought up on this blog regarding the levy. Just as I should have never brought up the issue about the free lunch program. The free lunch program will not change by the levy passing. If anything, it will cause more people to use the program as their tax dollars drive them into more of a financial bind. Perhaps that was the plan of the school all along. The school does get more tax dollars if they have more students on the free lunch program.

We will agree to disagree on the athletics vs. free lunch program and the TAX DOLLARS THAT ARE SPENT ON BOTH. We just have different perspectives on these issues so no amount of typing can possibly resolve the issue. I am set in my ways; as are those that disagree with me.

I found it ironic however that someone who admits to having their children on the FREE lunch program at school also has the funds to go out for an “occasional stop at a local restaurant for a bite to eat”. The last I checked, the meals are much cheaper at school then at any of the restaurants in these towns. Enough said.

My kids get free lunches in school and yes it is precisely because of how many kids I have! I can guarantee to you that the amount I pay in property taxes far and away pays for this evil “social program.” I also guarantee you those with 2.1 kids are spending the money brought in by the larger families of 2.2 and above.

Also how quickly those with 2.1 kids forget about the sales taxes, social security taxes, increased local business revenue, and growth in the community such families provide (the 2.2 and above crowd). Incidentally, does the dcmom have the courage to mention who she is referencing in her big family comments?

For your information dcmom you have voted on your evil “social programs,” by voting in your representatives who craft the laws and programs you live under! Oh your one of those complainers of little action, or maybe your like the rest of us that are to busy working paying our $340 a month property tax bill, while buying groceries, diapers $1000 a month in health insurance (yea for private HMO’s), keeping gas in the car, filling the propane tank, and maybe making the occasionally stop at one of our local restaurants for a bite to eat.

I hate to turn this into a small vs. large family argument, but it is these families funding this areas school, so how dare us question the $800,000 spent on sports, how dare us be so greedy, so petty, so inconsiderate. How dare we want the sport system to be setup as a user fee based system, how dare we try to limit the essential sport activities that teach our kids to balance a checkbook, properly manage credit, prepare for college, understand the taxation system, indeed how dare we.

How dare someone with 10 kids ($80,000 in spending power) try to suggest to someone with 2 kids ($16,000 in spending power) how we should spend our tax money.

I agree, dcmom stop and think about how your well thought out arguments (which is nothing more than taking what everyone else has said and disagreeing)sound and read before pushing that mouse botton and displaying your nuggets of wisdom for all to see.

I am upset that my last posting was singled out as being “harsh”. What is so wrong with me voicing my opinion? I thought we still had this thing in America called “FREEDOM OF SPEECH”. What makes you think that I did not think about what I was typing? This issue has bothered me for years. I can assure you that I did think long and hard before I wrote. It just irritates me that there are people out there that want to single out the athletics at the school and target them for cuts and nothing else. I think that there are lots of areas where my tax dollars are not spent wisely. This just happens to be the one that bothers me the most.

“Before you complain too much about free or reduced lunches please be advised that those figures are used by the Minnesota Department of Education when they figure out how much each school district will be getting from the State. So, the more free/reduced lunches DC provides, the more $$ the district will get from the State.”

Who is “the State” and where does that money come from? The taxpayers (ME AND YOU). It just was not put on a levy question form.

“And if you knew anything about this country’s tax system you would know that having many, many children gives you more exemptions when figuring out your income tax due and owing in April every year. I doubt that families with multiple children pay much in income tax since each exemption (child) reduces their total tax due and owing.”
“Large families just pay less in income taxes.”

I believe that I understand that quite well thank you. That is part of what I am complaining about. Some of these families cannot afford to feed their children when they are at school. They are relying on other taxpayers (Because as you pointed out they do not pay as much in income taxes) to take care of the costs of their children’s meals while at school. They even get two meals a day from the school if they desire, because they are fed both breakfast and lunch on “The State”.

NOW LET ME SAY THAT I KNOW THAT NOT ALL THE LARGE FAMILIES ARE IN THIS SITUATION. There are LOTS of them can afford their children very easily. I am not saying that they don’t have the freedom to have as many children as they want. I just think that they should be able to afford the children that they have.

I believe that there is a time and a place for the free or reduced lunch program. Anyone can fall on hard times and need a little help. My family needed to use the service back when I was in school because my father was injured on the job and workers comp did not stretch far enough. We used the service when we needed it, but as soon as my father was able to return to work, the service was no longer needed and we did not continue to recieve the meals. Even though my parents income met the guidelines to recieve the help! I am talking about the families that use it ALL the time and rely on it. It should be used in emergency cases as needed, not used year after year after year.

“However, the real estate tax that supports our local school district doesn’t care how many children you have. This is a regressive tax, and you pay according to the value of your home. So, if our families have a big house to provide shelter for their large family they pay accordingly to that value and not according to how many children are part of that family.”

I believe that is the fairest way to pay for your share of what the school needs. Though I would argue that some of the families that use the services still live in fairly small moderately valued houses because that is what they have.

“However, I have found that large families also will be getting more financial aid in college, as will children of farmers and children of single parents, not to mention the minorities who also get a ton of financial aid. I hope that once DC’s students get out from under DC’s wing/protection that it won’t be too much of a shock as to what to expect in this wide, wide world. Everything comes with a price.”

Unfortunately, you and I both agree on this point. Isn’t also ironic that we both work(ed) hard to provide for our families. Then when our children could have used financial assistance in college, these same children that our tax payer dollars have been supporting; also recieve more assistance in going to college. That is another bone to pick another time.

I just believed that someone needed to point out that there are some things about the school that needs to be addressed. I know that the school really, really wants to have as many families as possible on the lunch program. Every year they ask EVERY family to fill out the forms to see if they qualify for the program.

AT LEAST THE VOTERS WERE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO VOTE ON IF THE LEVY PASSED. NO ONE HAS EVER ALLOWED ME TO VOTE ON THE SOCIAL PROGRAMS THAT THE GOVERNMENT THINK ARE SO GREAT!
If they asked the voters maybe “The free ride would be over!!”

Get a grip—I am tired of my tax dollars going to pay for the free or reduced priced meals for the families in this district that have so many children that they cannot afford to pay for the children’s lunch. Who do you think is paying for those lunches? It isn’t the parents, they have so many deductions on their taxes that they probably get more money back then what they paid in for taxes. When this district is not full of those families and my tax dollars stop going to pay for that stuff then we can discuss whether we should continue to offer extracurricular activities for the students that want to participate.

The things that are taxes are being spent on everyone can find a pet peeve. I have accepted that I will be feeding these children my entire life…..even if I cannot afford to pay to put food on my families table. I don’t have enough children to abuse the system myself. I wanted to be able to support the children that I had. That included their schooling as well as providing food and clothing.