From Rich Deprez
President of the School District of Monroe Board of Education
To the Editor:
Monroe is a great community. We are a generous and caring place. Blessed with a genuine regard for the wellbeing of one another like no place I’ve ever lived. Evidenced by the generosity of our service organizations, the connectedness of our lives, how we give willingly of our time and talents, and the pride of our inhabitants. Monroe really is a special place.
This didn’t happen overnight. Together we’ve built a legacy through generations of folks doing the right thing for their community, even when those decisions are hard. Together, we share a belief that we can all make a difference.
In 2016 the Board began to seek input from the community to determine how our School District can best reflect the values of the community it serves. Our facilities were a top priority to our community and a long-term plan to meet those needs began to develop. This journey led to now asking our community to invest in the future of our children, and our way of life, for decades to come. Six years later, through careful planning, our community can choose to affirm that commitment on November 8th.
I’ve had the opportunity discuss the need that has evolved at the High School with many in our community. It is vast, and the condition of our facilities matter greatly to the engagement of our students. We encourage our students to dream big and we are obligated to create the opportunities to achieve those dreams. The foundation of that promise is the schools we do that hard work in.
Updating our facilities can serve to inspire our students long into the future as they work to turn their dreams into reality. Enabling new ways of learning, collaborating, and working together with our staff, facilities play a key role, and help support that journey. And with the opportunity to create a high school campus that can better the experience for our students and serve as a draw within our region, Monroe has much to gain and little to lose by supporting our schools.
Now is your chance to make a difference for generations to come. To honor the legacy of our community by giving of ourselves today to advantage the Monroe of tomorrow. The cost to an average homeowner is about $26 more than last year, just 50 cents per week, to change the trajectory of every student that walks through the doors of Monroe High School. Please join me on November 8th and Say Yes to Monroe Schools!
From Catherine A.S. Boughton
Monroe
To the Editor:
I am proud to be voting YES on November 8th.
It did take me a little while to get here, but I am now wholeheartedly convinced that This is the plan to support and Now is the time to do it. A local school is a beating heart within its’ community — what we choose to do, or not do, is directly tied to Monroe’s health and future.
I appreciate the district’s diligence, weighing options and seeking feedback over the past many years. Of all the ideas discussed throughout that time, this plan rises above the rest. It fully addresses the major concern that is the high school building, maintains the current grade structure throughout the district, and provides necessary repairs to Abe Lincoln (similar to NS and PS) — keeping this important neighborhood school in place.
I believe there is great value to be found in our neighborhood elementary schools. In this plan, Abe Lincoln is given the attention it needs to thrive; continuing to serve as a cornerstone and hub for families that live in and near this largely residential part of town.
The current High School building (est. 1958 — and thankful for all it’s done) is far beyond fixing. To patch or procrastinate is to put off the inevitable. The hard truth is that the situation is deteriorating too rapidly to push this down the road again. It will not be easier to deal with later. Substantial problems with the foundation compounded by decades of water infiltration issues leads me to understand that a complete rebuild is what we’re faced with, and a new site is the best way to accomplish this goal. We need to give the go-ahead now and let the process continue where next step details can be fine-tuned with further community engagement.
Oh — did you hear about the new mill rate? Thirteen Cents. A $0.13 increase from last year’s rate, meaning about $13 per 100,000 of property value. This would still be $0.45 LESS than 2020-21!
We can initiate this positive, long-term change by voting Yes on November 8th.
This is an opportunity for us to come together as a community and rally around our families and staff, honor the legacy laid by those before us, and look, with excitement and hope, toward the future.
Let’s seize this opportunity and finally tackle this, once and for all.
See you on the 8th!
From George Vernon
Monroe
To the Editor:
We moved to Monroe the summer before our daughter started her freshman year of high school. She walked in the door on Wednesday, not knowing a soul.
On Thursday a group of kids invited her to go to the football game with them the next night. To me that story is Monroe High School — and Monroe — in a nutshell.
Through connections with both retired and current faculty and administrators, I know that this is still Monroe High School, even in an era of increased diversity and stagnant community growth.
Because I think the high school is such a special place, I am, to put it mildly, dismayed by the overall tone of the discussion about a new building to house this special place.
The opponents crab about the cost, the site, and the “just completed” 25-year old addition. The supporters talk about crumbling plaster and cramped quarters, technology and the tiny increase in the mill rate. Every bit of this discussion profoundly misses the point of the place, the essence of the place that was demonstrated to our daughter many years ago.
We are now putting the finishing touches on an $11 million investment to save the domes and towers of a historic courthouse. There has been no serious debate about the wisdom of that investment. Similarly, there should be no serious debate about approving the scrupulously documented presentation of the school board to get on with the task of building a new high school that is more than just “good enough” for a community that is far far better than good enough.
From Marge Klinzing
Monroe
To the Editor:
I am a member of the SAY YES COMMITTEE and I and the community members below want to reinforce why this referendum is important.
SAY stands for:
S stands for STRONG SCHOOLS PROMOTE STRONG COMMUNITIES.
Schools help promote volunteerism, internships, learning trades and help in securing jobs in our community.
A stands for AFFORDABLE PRICE.
In October, when the school district got their final state aid numbers, it is now
.13 cents per $1,000. Due to project valuation, state aid and the debt from Northside project falling off the tax rolls, a homeowner with a home valued at $200,000 will only pay additional $26.00 a year. The $26 dollars increase will be the school portion on your taxes.
Y stands for YOUR VOTE FOR FUTURE IS NOW. It wouldn’t be this affordable again.
YES stands for:
Y stands for YOUR VOICE YOUR VOTE. Get the facts from Say Yes Facebook page, Monroe School District Website, newspaper or radio. Please like our pages on Facebook for future updates.
E stands for EDUCATION FOR OUR CHILDREN IS KEY with new flexible and larger classrooms, spaces for student collaboration, modern shop classrooms, and updates to Abe Lincoln these changes will make a difference for our children.
S stands for the SITE IS VERY DESIRABLE for our new High School next to Northside School.
School officials have listed 10 reasons on their website on why this site was chosen.
Join me, Marge Klinzing, and other community members in voting Yes for Monroe Schools on November 8th.
Signed:
Jess & Bailey Jordan
Mark & Jenni Coplien
Adam & Shannon Hawkinson
Michael & Traci Pickett
John & Sue Patterson
Damein & Rachel Nipple
Logan & Nicole Wenger
Ann Prophett
Gloria Rieder
Kyle & Ashley Geisler
James & Erin Cassidy
Alan & Sarah Bennett
Jim & Judy Munro
Dan & Kari Rosenstiel
Sarah Jacobson,
Dan & Jennifer Jacobson
Bill & Bevis
Dave & JoEllen Mosher
Sam & Katlyn Schumacher
Kendric & Tara Greely
Thomas & Becky McLean
Adam & Kirsten Steinmann
Mike & Vickie Moon
Bobbie & Hans Bernet
Beth Ableman-Bernet & Rudy Bernet
Valerie & Chris Coplien
Patrick & Briana Cleary
Nick & Emily Bartels
Michele Benzschawel
Al & Danielle Hanusa
Rich & Diane Krebs
Chandra Deprez
Tom Deprez
Lynda Snider
Elaine & Bill Bethke
Paul & Jean Schoenike
Howie & Robyn Jubeck
Jon & Carol Rufenacht
Gil & Mary Jelinek
Brad & Lisa Zettle
Dave & Traci Weckerly
Dave & Tracey Chugg
Amanda Duff
Hollis & Joanne Bausman
Linda Moser
Hannah & Ryan Bechtolt
John & Katie Baumann
Jennifer Scace
Deb & Bob Ruchti
Kate & Jeff Maliszewski
