In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re all getting a little older here in Cook County! And I do mean that literally and collectively. The percentage of the population over 65 years of age increased from 17.2 in 2000 to 20.3 in 2010. The median age for our county is now 51.4 years old compared to the State of Minnesota median of 37.7 years of age. I know we pride ourselves in being an outstanding community, but on this point we are way above average. The fact that our aging numbers are trending up means our school age population is trending down. These demographic facts make the ISD 166 Operating Levy proposal a pretty tough sell.
As a 60 year old (barely) resident of Cook County, why should I support the ISD166 Levy request? After all, I no longer have school age children and I don’t receive any direct benefit from my contribution…or do I?
Consider this: if this trend continues, those of us who want to live here as we age will be unable to do so. There will be too few people to do the work that makes this such a great place to live. The current model is not sustainable. If we want Cook County to continue to be a great place to live we must attract and retain young families. There is a lot of conversation about economic development and housing which may attract young families to move here, but they won’t stay if the school system doesn’t measure up.
We absolutely need a great public school system in Cook County, so please consider why this referendum is the best thing for the health of our community. Last week I had the opportunity to learn more about the proposed Levy. Here is a summary of what I learned.
The Problem: State and Federal funding is based on the number of students enrolled. As these numbers dwindle so does the funding. So for example, the average grade 9-12 class size has dropped from 49 to 46. But the loss of three students is not enough to reduce the teaching staff. At the same time operational costs like maintenance, transportation, electricity, and heating don’t decrease with fewer students and in fact these costs tend to increase each year.
The Levy Proposal: The current levy expires at the end of December. The proposed operating levy is for $600,000 a year. This levy would be in place for five years. This is an increase of about $200,000 per year over the current levy. The difference reflects the loss of revenue since the last levy was approved.
How will levy funds be spent? In addition to addressing loss of revenue and increasing costs, a set of priorities has been defined by community members, staff, administration and the school board. The levy funds will be used to improve programming and the use of technology, improve academic excellence, as well as, support plant operations and maintenance.
What the levy isn’t: It’s not a building fund. There is some confusion that the new industrial arts facility was built using levy funds. This is simply not true. This facility was built with IRRRB funding.
Accountability – Building on results: We can all be proud of the great improvement our school has made over the last couple of years. The Minnesota Department of Education reports that our elementary students’ performance rating as measured in 2014 at 57.88% up from 26.24% in 2012. Our Middle School performance rating is up 9.08 percentage points in the same time period. And our high school performance rating now stands at 76.32%.
It takes a village to raise a child. We are the village that needs to ensure our school system continues to improve. Directly or indirectly a strong, vibrant, quality school is good for all of us. I hope you will join me in voting YES on November 3. And perhaps we can begin changing the direction of our collective aging!
Rena Rogers
Grand Marais
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