This fall, voters of Cook County have the opportunity to approve a reasonable 20-year bond and a 6-year levy in support of the county’s public school district. I urge residents to VOTE YES and YES on both measures November 8.
As our schools move forward with new leadership, your YES votes will allow us to retain strong programs, effective class sizes, a healthy curriculum, and character-building after school sports and activities for our children, while we restore the district’s financial stability. Your YES votes will protect generations of investment in our aging buildings, and protect our bus fleet for safe transport of our children.
There are many, many wonderful things going on in your ISD 166 schools, with good people in place to build on them. We have dozens of reasons to be optimistic as we shape our schools’ future, but at the same time we face the cold, hard math of declining enrollments and state aid. Local decisions—your VOTES YES and YES on the bond and levy—will shape that future.
The fact is, most Minnesotans say YES to their local school districts: when asked, 90 percent of school districts in Minnesota vote YES to support levies and bonds for their schools. The system is such that local control via referendum shapes the quality of local schools.
In formulating this request, the ISD 166 school board reduced the levy request for Cook County residential and commercial property by 38 percent from last year.
The board shifted long-term facilities and transportation to the proposed bond, which assesses all properties in the county, including seasonal and recreational, reducing the burden on residential and commercial properties. This was a responsible direction based on trust in new leadership to implement the outcome effectively.
While a long-time resident of the county, I acknowledge that I am also a relative outsider. But I have had the privilege of serving twice on your school board over the past six years, and in that role have looked very hard at the choices we as a county face about our schools. There is no bluffing or padding in the request before you. It really is a choice about the nature of your kids’ future.
Please VOTE YES and YES.
Terry Collins
District 2 School Board Member
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