Ours is $3.09 and East Buch $5.30, If that were US, that would make my taxes OVER $1,000.00 a year, they are Already Over $600.00, and that is for a house that's nearly 125 yrs old. Maybe a normal house (not a historical mansion) OVER 100 yrs old should be dropped from the tax records and increase the taxes on all of the new $500k + houses that have been and Are being built around here. I would bet you that more taxes have been paid on MY house since they began, than what My house is worth on the market today!

I disagree with the direction of this opinion piece completely and stand by my original position. This editorial in my view validates the need for a permenant solution more then ever. With due respect, it is counterproductive. It throws out the correct numbers and statistics and summarizes the current state of the district, but I have issue with it on the present levy direction. It is clear a permenant solution is needed based on the above information. The editorial supports a temporary and status quo solution to the long term problem. That does not make sense when the data clearly shows a permenant solution is needed, now, not 5 five years from now. I do not hear the district itself being vocal about this direction and it has already been forgotten back in April this direction was clearly deemed as ineffective by the yes/yes campaign and the district. I will support and invest in future state, not status quo. We either need this for the long term and should argue it correctly and properly or we do not need at all. That is my argument that is what I stand on, the validations are out there to support it. Fight for the correct argument and gain the buy in from the public to support it, now, not five years from now.

"With that funding secured, the district and its supporters hope to spend the next year or more building a bridge to the larger community and developing a shared vision for advancing education locally for decades to come."

PASSAGE OF THIS LEVY WILL NOT SUPPLY ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE DISTRICT FOR A YEAR. why, why , why????? would anyone vote for a levy now without requiring the bridge building and shared vision to be done FIRST? a yes vote now does not provide a single advantage to the community outreach, in fact, it will hamstring that effort. get the community engaged FIRST.

Atleast the NP used the correct terminology and stated if the current proposal passed, it would RESTORE the levy. This is not a renewal of the levy as the TF mailers indicate.

That being said, it appears that the folks who are going to work on the long range planning project hope to have that process complete within a year or two. 1-2 years to engage all parts of the community, create a long range plan that the entire community can support and determine an appropriate levy that will permanently and appropriately fund education in Saint Joseph well into the future.

The current levy proposal accomplishes NOTHING positive. It is and will, in my opinion, do serious damage to the argument that our children deserve permanent funding. This is possibly why you do not see the admin/BOE promoting this agenda.

Voters need to remember that the current levy proposal does nothing to address any immediate financial crisis because there is no immediate financial crisis and it does nothing to address St. Joseph's long term needs.

A yes vote is a vote against progress. Our children deserve permanent and appropriate funding. Our city deserves to know the truth. Our community should demand more from the district than the status quo - which is what this is. One look at our schools, a glance at our schools performance should be a clear indicator that the status quo is not good enough.

Those of you who argued so passionately for a permanent levy last time, it is time to stand up for what you believe in. There is no crisis. We have plenty of time to do what is right for our children.

Vote NO in November.

This revenue will not even be avalible to the district till 2011 and they have till august of 2010 to get a levy passed and it will still collect the revenue in 2011 so why the rush .Especially since the district is saying it will be spending mmore then it takes in.And in a couple of years folks we will be asked again by these people for more even before the levy would expire.Why not wait till next year and you would have more support 2 neaw board member that are going to hold the admin more accountable,Chance for the economy to turn around,And a chance for the district to workk with the community as a whole and get a levy thats right for the schools.Plus remember folks they have 36 million in reserves and are still collecting 3.04 on the current levy and still recieve funds from the state and have said they can operate for 2 years with what they have and be ok.So why the ruch what is their underlying reason? Could it be they want to proceed with biulding of a school to the NE and useoperating money as they asked the attorneys aaaif the could a short time ago? I know the NE needs a school but if this is the case and this is what they do if the levy is passed it will be the end of public voting for anything for the school district and the rest of the schools will suffer for years to come.SJSD needs to be a little more transparent and honest with the community and communicate. NO IN NOVEMBER

Apple, get a backbone and argue for the permanent funding that you argued for so passionately at the beginning of the year.

The district is NOT facing an immediate financial crisis.

Vote NO in November.

Exactly apples quit flip flopping.

Just following your lead.

Guess you have no explanation for your inability to stand up for what you believe in.

Apple in the post that was shut down I said I was willing to forget and not proceed with the way we have been going at each other for all of the dgrading and name calling you have done if you were willing to stop and see other peoples views and actually corenspond with people instead of attacking them and I would try to see your point as well.I am sure you read it before it was shut down.This is actually hard for my german stubborness but it will make me a better person and if you chose not to it will show your true colors and the type of person you are.So how aboutit apple?

amusing that ACE , which stood before the BOE and conducted public meetings is characterized as working from the shadows. equally amusing is the exhortation that after the passage of the levy "we can all sit down" when you, apple, have stated that you do not go to meetings. will you be joining us anonymously via conference call, or are you sending a hologram?

sarah hochschwender

The NP has fallen into the "trap" on this issue with their argument being about maintaing funding versus addressing the real issue of policy failures on how revenues should be established and used for improving the educational process.

The BOE repeatedly, with minor exception, ignores not only the input of this community on a variety of subjects but also other indicators demonstrating a need for greater focus on what should be their primary objective; educational excellence.

People are rightfully voicing concern and opposition over providing a continued funding level to a school district that has not served the best interest of the children or community. Until the BOE can demonstrate an ability to rectify these issues, few will be convinced that the solution is to just keep approving funding with no better plan in sight.

It was also the Newspress opinion to vote the lottery in so we would never have to worry about funding schools in the 80's too. How did that work out? Just curious, it was voted down the first time, if they get it passed..do the people that voted no get a best 2 out of 3 voting round?? No..if it passes you get no recourse. If it doesn't, they will put it to vote again and again and again. I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV...But I question if putting this to vote as many times as someone wants , to get the result they want, is even legal or valid.

Apple, it has been explained to you. Our children deserve more. This amount is not enough in the long term and is counterproductive to solving our long term problems.

APPLES is still lost in her flip flop and cannot see past her own opinions.

apple. nobody I know in ACE would talk like rednes

Sometmes when I read these posts, I begin to think that, with this town's mindset, maybe we ought to request KQ2 to bring back WRESTLIN' WITH BOB. I am sure that somebody who posts here has participated in a campaign. When you do, you have to plan for what you think you can get, not necessarily what you would like to have. I said in another post and will repeat here that the board and administration should have been in better contact with the people to get an idea of what was happening before they even thought of floating these issues. I often wonder if the school board actually was aware of their responsibility when they got on the board or did they think it was some kind of coffee klatch where they would be on television for a few minutes and then just go home. Did the administrators just think they could sit back and evaluate others and collect their checks without also being held accountable for what went on? Did they not understand that they were to get out and interact with the public, regularly? Listening and learning would have been a good start for them.

mm, why do you consider apple to have "flip-flopped"? It isn't unheard of for someone to take a second look at things and change their mind. One can also say that it's a wise thing for a person to reconsider a position. To do otherwise is to be stubborn....and many a bad decision have been made because of stubborness.
I've said this many times before, while apple and I differ on the sunset clause, we both understand funding needs to be restored. The best way to do this is to pass the levy NOW, and work for the next 5 years to restore trust in the district, to find workable solutions, and all work together to find a way to make the levy permanent, and yet allay the fears in the community about an endless tax and a district with a blank check.
While the issues are large, they are NOT insurmountable. It takes compromise to make a community work. To withhold funding in the near future is NOT good for the district, long term. The levy is a NOW issue....whether it becomes permanent is a debate for another day.
I have to say that I've also changed my position in certain ways, thanks to apple's insight and common sense approach to all this.

For folks who are asking people to vote no: I understand your thinking in wanting a permanent solution, so do I. Here is the trouble with waiting. We are going to lose good teachers. Without the money I would assume salaries are going to stay frozen. A teacher who has been working in the district for around 10 years can drive 20 minutes to Platte City and make $8,500 more a year. We are not going to be able to compete. I have talked with several teachers who are waiting to see what happens. These are quality educators in my opinion. Research shows no matter what other factors come into play 50% of a child's learning depends upon the educator in the classroom. We are not going to be able to retain our quality teachers. It is not fair to them to continue to have salary freezes, because people won't support education. People complain about the administration, but do you think a failed levy is going to affect them? They will go on as normal, while the real ones who suffer are our children and teachers. If you want change then go vote when the school board seats come up. Last time hardly anyone even went to vote for school board members. It was like 8,000 turn out! Not funding our district is going to hurt teachers and students not the administration. Our teachers will leave and our children will suffer.

You can agree or disagree with anything I have said. However, the part about who will really suffer is fact. Administration will not suffer, the school board will not suffer, the kids and teachers are the ones who will suffer. Go vote for the next set of school board members if you want administration changes. But don’t let our schools perish in the mean time.

My two cents....