Lomira School District Comment Analysis October 14, 2013

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1 Lomira School District Comment Analysis October 14, 2013 The comment theme summary was developed in an attempt to identify common themes by first reading all of the comments collected throughout the survey. A theme is identified as a result of having multiple participants referencing similar issues or concerns across constituencies. This summary is not intended to represent all comments submitted; rather it attempts to represent the prevailing themes. Sample comments supporting each theme were cut/pasted verbatim into the report. Major Themes Respondents shared comments regarding how Option B could be implemented... 2 Some respondents expressed concern regarding the proposed fitness center... 3 Respondents shared concerns regarding any tax increase, especially for those on a fixed income... 4 Respondents were generally satisfied with the District s communication efforts, but offered their suggestions for improvement... 5

2 Respondents shared comments regarding how Option B could be implemented While this is not the most forward thinking option, it seems that it could be a viable option to address the district's need if this is what the community can financially support. This option would address some 21 century needs in the middle and high school and will afford more flexible use of the building with the common space upgrades. This option would modernize the school to make it more workable and not raise the property tax too much. I would support Option B over Option A, if no other options were supported. Remodeling again is a bad plan, but if we can't get support for a new building this still needs to happen. Perhaps there could be a very good remodel that adds on a few things and increases just a million or two more. Of the four options, this is the one we agree with the most and would like to see happen. Out of all of the options, this seems to tackle the problems with the most common sense. I prefer this Option B, for the cost down the road and the school is in need of updates! Personally, I would support this option. The first reason being what better investment than in our children. We can't expect Lomira to continue to be on the cutting edge without adequate facilities in which to learn. Current interest rates are the best that we will see for a long time to come. I also think it's important to have vision enough to look ahead and ask ourselves whether or not we want to provide an optimal learning environment/education for our children. As a parent and a member of this community, I would vote yes to option B. I think it is important to consider however, that one cannot keep putting a bandaid on things that are broken. If we're going to give our children the best opportunities, up-dates need to be made - make them. This is better in terms of updates for school but nothing is happening in making it technology better in the renovations for the students I have 3 grandkids that just recently graduated from Lomira High, and they didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with the present school. Again, please have the District check into Energy Exemption Resolution provided by the State. Please check with DPI on the guidelines, some of the upgrades/efficiencies can be included with this Exemption. You can borrow up to 20 years for the projects as well. There are also guidelines to follow if the District will borrow above the $1,000,000 limit. Check with area districts to see if they have utilized this Exemption. IE: Green Lake

3 Some respondents expressed concern regarding the proposed fitness center I don't like the idea of the community fitness center attached with the school. Having people from the community in the center while school is in session could raise some safety issues. How will they access it? Is there liability for the school if someone was to get hurt while in the facility? I DO NOT AGREE THAT WE NEED TO EXPAND OR ADD A WEIGHT OR fitness center. This plan doesn't address the need for extra classroom space in the elementary, but it meets the community's desire to have a fitness center. It's also necessary to demolish the way outdated portions of the high school and increase cafeteria space. A fitness center would cost more money because it would need to have extra staff available to take care of it and supervise it. I would like to have a more detailed explanation of the fitness center--define the need for the fitness center for students and spell out the plan for community access. How does the fitness center fit into the outline for facility planning and what goals does it accomplish for the school district and its students? We do not need to provide another space for teachers for planning and collaboration. During the planning and collaboration time, many classrooms might be empty, library could be utilized, and teacher's lounge. If a new school is to be built, the students should be using the space...not just built for teacher space. We should be student centered. With a public fitness center, how would this address the security issues at the school? With the need for extra security, we should not have wondering community members in the school. The school should be built for the community use, but with continuing security issues in school across the world, this is no longer a possibility. I have a strong opinion that our school should be a school and not turned into a daycare or community fitness center. The purpose of a school is not to sell gym memberships (or I assume this would be free to the community as a way to sell the idea of this expansion to those that aren't willing to pay more taxes). Let area businesses provide daycare and fitness, let our school teach our children. Focus on the real purpose of a school and classroom and not on the fluff. I do not think the school board should consider a fitness center for the community. Lets just worry about enough space for the children to learn! Do not go over board by figuring in thing for the community to do. While physical fitness is part of education, I feel that sports sometimes over-ride educational concerns. Reading, Writing, Arithmetic are the most important. Being able to reason through problems is very important in the business world. Although sports are a rallying cry for a school, personally, all of my classroom work is what is valuable to me now in the working world.

4 Respondents shared concerns regarding any tax increase, especially for those on a fixed income Increasing taxes over the years on a fixed income is hard. Worst possible time to add to taxes with poor economy; high medical cost, high fuel prices, food prices, and lower wages for Dodge County the others; not the right time for tax payers. You will not get support to close Theresa School which is at the entrance of the town of 1200 people. Suggestion: Go back to the drawing board and include tax payers on the committee to draw up 2-3 plans. Look closely at what Waupun did with their schools and see how they are struggling to pay for their expansion in an environment of farming communities with aging population, foreclosures, decreased home values, and a very difficult home selling market for country estates, and no increased enrollment in public schools for many years. Lomira properties aren't going to be worth what they will need to be assessed at to support the tax increases required. this would be good with little tax increase but how long before we have to look into updating to keep up with other schools TAXES WAY TO HIGH. Increased operational expenses (maintaining 3 buildings) May include the need to hire additional teaching and maintenance staff Increased staff travel to provide foreign language, agriculture and other classes Duplicate spaces for band, technical education, art and chorus With everything else, I'm not sure that we can afford a $ hike in property taxes... People are still recovering from losing jobs due to the economy and will not be able to pay higher taxes. My family cannot afford an additional $820 added to our taxes each year. In addition, we will never send our children to public schools. Cut back and do the best with what you have available already. Just way too much money. It would be a hardship for our family to have our taxes increase that much. The tax base is too small to support this kind of expense. Education options are changing quickly. A brand new building doesn't necessarily draw students. The end product produced is what makes families want to come to our school district. Lomira has good, qualified teachers. Continue in that direction. If there could be funds raised/donated to offset some of the borrowing cost, then yes. Else, that is going to be way too pricey of a hit on the taxes... There are a lot of people struggling to keep their homes due to the economy and won't be able to pay higher taxes.

5 Respondents were generally satisfied with the District s communication efforts, but offered their suggestions for improvement The administrative team of this District has bent over backwards to inform the community about what is happening. If you don't have all the information then you have been ignoring a lot of different types of communication. communication has been clear and available to help citizens make a good choice. I think the school has done an outstanding job of communicating the information in a wide variety of formats. You'd need to live under a rock to not know that the discussion is happening. If people want to make an educated decision about the future of their school and community, they have been given every opportunity to learn the facts. I truly feel that the district has been doing a fantastic job of communicating the process of analyzing the facilities. The district has provided the information in a variety of formats. It is each individual's responsibility to decide what to do with the information. Thank-you for the great communication in a variety of forms! I'm glad to see now that the district has implemented an automated phone system, although I have yet to experience how it works. The website lacks information. I don't even think it has the school day hours on it. It needs revamping. The Waupun School District has an excellent website and I can find almost anything I need to by going to the website instead of calling. I also would like the transportation system improved. There were many communication issues with busing last year. The bus drivers should provide a contact number for parents. The sub drivers need to be properly trained so they don't miss a pick up (which occurred several times last year). And sometimes information from the transportation coordinator did not get through to TLC. I like how well this process has been communicated. I think if people are upset with results or with not being informed, they have chose to not be informed. It is well advertised in the community. That was one of my concerns when this first came up, and I feel it has been well planned out. I know that takes a lot of time and effort for everyone else. Hopefully it will be worth it in the end! The first flyer regarding the building project ended up supplying inaccurate information, and I feel it was biased. To include an option that was not really an option at the time was an unusual choice, and I noticed the option the "Focus on the Future" group wanted was in a bold box to draw attention to it. Also, the board should have some oversight as to what is being sent into the community. My suggestion would be to just provide FACTS without trying to influence people's opinions. The newsletter was much better. Unless you have children in the school district, it is hard to have a relationship with the school district. It is very important to remember that you have many tax payers in the district that don't have children in school.