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Student: Investment in schools won’t disappoint
Published Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Being a graduating senior this May, I have absolutely no complaints about my high school career here in Fergus Falls. In fact, I would like to thank all those hard working teachers and staff members of District 544 for everything that they do to ensure that each and every child in this community gets the most out of their education they possibly can.
Leaving next year and going to college I will not reap the benefits of the new school that is being built in the up coming years.
What I would like to say is a huge thank you to this community for, after two votes, finally allowing the youth in this community to have the school that they deserve. I don’t think that some of the Fergus Falls residents know what kind of shape the high school is truly in.
Well, from a primary source, let me enlighten you — this winter, the cafeteria was shut down three days or so before Christmas vacation because the asbestos levels in that room were so high that it wasn’t safe for us to be in it. They had to tear out the floor and replace it. Mind you, that’s the room we the students eat in.
Also during that time period, the band and choir rooms’ carpet was removed because of the unhealthy levels of mold that were present in it.
Just this week, the high school weight room was shut down for the same reason as the cafeteria was — asbestos.
Now, these are only a few of the instances that have been brought to my attention as a student. What I’m trying to say is that the building that we, your children and future, have been going to school in for the past four years isn’t a healthy place to be.
Money, we all know, isn’t something that grows on trees, but neither is education. It needs to be produced and earned. With this new school the youth of this community will have a new, safe, healthy, positive learning environment.
So, I believe that I speak for all of those little elementary kids, middle school kids, high school kids, and the countless teachers and staff members when I say, thank you for agreeing to allow us to learn and work in environment that isn’t hazardous to our health. Your investment in our education will not disappoint the world.
Thomas Schueller - FFHS Class of 2008
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by doctipster (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 12:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bravo.....
Now let us commence on ripping what you said apart. Disection is the key.
The problem I have is they have remodeled an old building. A building that still will contain harmful asbestos. So what, it will look pretty from the outside, and hold more kids in a school designed for only middle school but thats okay as well.
In truth you shouldn't really comment. You are 18. You don't own a home in this district, you don't pay the increase on property taxes. In fact you probably are going at least out of town for college if not out of state.
You speak of reaping benifits. How is this multi million dollar school benfiting us. The school District is doubling the cost of all day kindergarden, doubling the cost of being in extra curricular activities, whats next are they going to double the cost of school lunches. I mean they can only raise the cost of so many things.
Then theres the teachers they constantly lay off every year. Usually about 15-20 teachers a year. Sure they hire some of them back, if they are lucky and those good teachers haven't already moved on to another district. Our children will follow, more and more parents sending their children to Underwood, Rothsay, and Ashby.
what a shame isn't it. But this is the school you so profoundly praise. Just wait until some senior decides to pick on and torrement some 6th grader, How do you think that will end. Becuase you and I know it will happen. And we have seen what young kids in our society that have been outcasted and picked on in school do, Need I remind everyone of Columbine, Paducah, Santee, the list goes on and on. But the Fergus Falls school district just wants to ignite this by placing juniors and seniors in the same school as sixth seventh and eighth graders.
Sure some of you will say, I went to a school that was K-12. Thats great. But it wasn't in a city with a population over 10,000. It just doesn't happen. Those were smaller communities with graduating classes of 30, 40, and 50. not 250. Kids in those age groups are not meant to be in the same school. It will be a modern day Glatiator School where it will be a breeding ground for physical and mental abuse...
So, are you still proud of your school
Posted by eripsni (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So, Doctipster, the two options would have been, for you, to do absolutely nothing or to build a new school completely.
Had we done nothing, kids (of whom I was one a few years back) would continue to be exposed to dangerous levels of asbestos and mold.
Had we built a new school from scratch, you'd have screamed and whined about your taxes.
So, I ask, what would you do? You rip apart an 18-year-old kid. Congrats! I hope it makes you feel good! But how about some productive ideas?
Personally, I believe that the reason that kids are leaving is two-fold:
1) A disproportionate amount of the budget is going towards upkeep of an old (literally sinking into the ground) facility covered in asbestos, mold, lead, etc. This leads to less money for teachers and programs, as well as increased costs to participate in things such as sports or all-day kindergarten.
2) Because of the condition of the schools and the lack of teachers, people move their kids to places like Underwood, where they have a new school and don't need to spend their entire budget on maintenance. As students leave, more funding dollars go with them. As businesses and families look for a place to live, school are an important factor. The condition of the school district will drive new residents from either moving to Fergus Falls or sending their kids to the FF school district.
But then again, what do I know? I gratutatered form Fegrus Falsl Hi-Skwell only a phew yurs ago. THe asbestos must naught half ben soo bad bak then
Posted by GrammarNazi (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Doctipster, it seems to me that if you had taken as much pride in your education as Mr. Schueller clearly has, you might have learned enough communication skill to be able to make a point of some kind. Your inability to spell correctly (disection? benifits? torrement? glatiator?) makes your post all but unreadable, and your unwillingness to stick to Mr. Schueller's well-made point about the physical condition of the high school building suggests that you merely have a cranky axe to grind with someone. The scorecard here reads Schueller 1, Doctipster 0.
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Mr. Schueller, your enthusiasm about improving our community is precisely what we need MORE of around here. Thank you for your energy, your passion, and for taking the time to write. Best wishes to you!
Posted by chipmunk (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 3:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
One of the biggest red herrings about this entire argument regarding school buildings is that surrounding asbestos. I will not waste my time attempting to educate posters who already have their mind made up and don’t want to be confused with the facts. Suffice it to say that floor tile with an asbestos component is not a health hazard unless it becomes friable (look it up). District officials have used the asbestos issue to scare taxpayers unnecessarily.
Posted by GrammarNazi (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 4:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I do have a smidgen of familiarity with the subject, and you are correct, Chipmunk; asbestos that's not disintegrating is no threat. I haven't seen the floors in question, but might one be able to assume in this case that the floors that were removed had in fact become friable? Considering how astonishingly expensive it is to dispose of asbestos, at a time when district officials are exploring every possible avenue for cutting costs, I hardly think they'd frivolously spend money on the removal and disposal of sound flooring. If the floors are crumbling, then that's no scare tactic.
Posted by Elizabeth (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You'll realize what a poor education you actually received once you get to college.
Posted by toad3 (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 4:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My nephew was educated in a small North Dakota town,1000 people. He was in a class of 12 kids. The building was real old and not real nice.He went to the Naval Academy, became a Navy pilot and today flies 757 planes for Continental airlines.The building certainly didn't determine his destiny, hard work and a good family who raised him! I think even Fergus Falls kids have the same or better chance to succeed. I don't think a fancy new building should make a difference. My nephew proved that.
Posted by Mel (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 5:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
chipmunk quoter "District officials have used the asbestos issue to scare taxpayers unnecessarily."
It's kind of funny chip, but I was thinking the same thing.
Posted by chipmunk (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 8:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
GrammerNazi, you may be correct, but there is another option. Suppose you were not beneath using any tactic to get a new school? Then, one might view the costs associated with a new floor as an investment in your ultimate goal rather than an expense. If the floor in the cafeteria had become friable, it did so at astonishing speed. I was in that same cafeteria for so-called informational meetings prior to the vote and the floor was perfectly acceptable at that time. During the tour after the meeting our “Guide” pointed to asbestos tiles throughout the entire tour as virtually all floors were the same tile. When I brought up the issue of friability he had no idea what I was talking about and he was the director of maintenance. Lastly, that same tile is currently on floors in several city and county building and many private businesses.
Posted by ffmomtoone (anonymous) on April 9, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I believe it was the head custodian giving tours, not the "director of maintenance."
Posted by GrammarNazi (anonymous) on April 9, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Chipmunk -- Sure, that's possible. Different people have different motives, and not everyone operates fully informed, if not honestly. I'm not surprised that during the district's publicity campaign for the bond referendum, there were people who (I hope by mistake and not by deception) offered asbestos floor tiles as evidence of a substandard or unsafe environment. We should note, however, that all the replacements Mr. Schueller wrote about were performed AFTER the bond referendum passed last fall, and were done during the school year, as opposed to being put off until summer as most major disruptive projects would. That speaks volumes, strongly suggesting to me that it was necessary -- if not mandated -- and not some kind of ploy. It seems to me that the investment you speak of was simply made to maintain a building that the district will continue to use anyway, even though the high schoolers will be vacating it as a result of the referendum passage. I just don't see any sinister conspiracy in play as far as the floor replacement is concerned.
Posted by chipmunk (anonymous) on April 9, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ffmomtoone, you are correct.
Posted by doctipster (anonymous) on April 9, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Im sorry, I guess my spelling should be attributed to our great fergus falls school district. Or maybe its just the fact that i usually just go on a rant and rave and don't proof fread what i type before i comment.
That being said.... The second poster you are wrong. I gladly accepted a new school, voted for it in fact, I did not vote for the extra money for a new hockey arena however. The school was just being a bit greedy there.
No matter how much you do to this old dumpy school people are never going to flock to fergus falls and 544 will never get more students than it loses through open enrollment.
1) Fergus regardless of how much I like this town, is a retirement community. We probably have 60-70 percent of our community retired, The young people like myself are looking to either move out fast, or end up being sucked into a community that doesn't pay squat for wages. Thats not the city nor the districts fault. Im just saying that kids know where the money is and ITS NOT FERGUS FALLS. so therfor, they move away, and don't come back until it gets closer to retirement.
So you need to build a new school to even think about drawing students in.
2) We have a school board that has proven year after year that they can't operate a budget. THey can't even balance one because we are constantly cutting classes and teachers. We have a drivers training course here and it looses money. You have to treat schools like a business. You have to. And if you constantly are losing money on a product, you STOP making it. We have 3 other drivers training programs within 45 miles.... use there's and quit wasting money.
Lets not forget the two new clases that we are starting next year.. Chinese language. Ummm cmon get real, more crap we don't need. I'd rather get one of those teachers back and offer something useful. Anyone going to Hong Kong anytime soon. If they are they sure as heck are not going to be living and working in Fergus Falls.
You all stick up for this district, you just wait in ten years they are going to be bankrupt and you are going to be the ones footing a 100 million dollar loan out to them because by then they will realize they just can't keep enrollment up without building new. SAD PEOPLE OF FERGUS... JUST SAD....
Me, on the other hand, will be long gone, if if not I won't have to worry about my kids being in District 544.
Funny how everyone wants to pick out so much of what i said but won't even mention the fact that all these kids are going to be in the SAME SCHOOL.... course you probably all know and realize thats a big mistake just don't want to go against our corrupt system...
Posted by doctipster (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Or, youre going to be voting constantly on operational bonding every four or five years so that they can sustain the way they want to run the school.
Posted by torkelson (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 10:35 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
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