LTE – Scott Morris – 4-1-2020
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I am writing to encourage Elk Mound Area School District voting age residents to vote YES on the upcoming school referendum April 7, 2020. I have attended all public meetings during the planning process and followed board decisions in detail. This project represents an excellent opportunity to take care of our facility needs well into the future. Our school board has a history of successful comprehensive planning related to current and future facility needs which is no doubt why past referendums have been so successful. There are no frills in this current project which includes work at the grade school, middle school and high school.
I believe the school board and in particular our school superintendent have been very responsible in carefully identifying facility needs that are absolutely necessary for maintaining the high quality of education for our children.
Our area community has grown and has been projected to grow even larger in the future. While many other school districts are building grade and middle schools as much as 35-40 million the Elk Mound project should take care of our needs well into the foreseeable future. This is especially true of our middle school with additional classrooms, gymnasium and maintenance. This school will service our community for years to come. The project includes security upgrades at all three schools, HVAC renovations resulting in significant cost savings, roof repairs where needed, a band room at the high school as well as upgrades to athletic facilities used by the entire community all year long.
I am especially supportive of the emphasis placed on improving our Tech Ed area which has been left behind in previous projects. These improvements are critical in offering our students course work in the industrial arts field our society so desperately needs. Giving our students a chance to learn high tech skills needed in the trades industry will provide our students with the opportunity to find good paying career fields or peak their interest to seek additional education in this area. We need to step up now.
The project saves our swimming pool with minimal costs by updating the HVAC system in the pool area. We have had many of our kids benefit from our sports programs but literally thousands of our children have learned how to swim. Our kids have become too sedentary. We need to protect physical-ed opportunities ALL kids can participate in. Our pool gives our kids (and community through open gym) benefits only a handful of school districts our size provide.
We are all sensitive to the challenges our economy faces right now with the Coronavirus but this too shall pass and we will rebound. Yes 15 million is a lot of money but it pales in comparison to what many other school districts are asking their taxpayers to support. Our project is a no frills referendum, responsible to our taxpayers and is needed to maintain our current educational standards and make certain we take care of our future needs. I might also add that interest rates are at all time historic lows right now and construction companies are in a highly competitive mode. Let us support the referendum and the education of our children by voting YES April 7, 2020. Be safe and please vote, it’s our civic duty.
Scott Morris
Elk Mound, WI