There will be something important to vote for at the General Election
Well, alright. That is it, then.
The race is on for the next 75 days or so. And there is going to be some big decisions to be made.
You probably think I am referring to the fact that the Democratic National Convention is now over, and the race for the White House is on, and we are going to see and hear a lot about it for the next two plus months until Nov. 5.
Well, all that is true, and I was, indeed, referring to the General Election on Nov. 5, but not necessarily the presidential race. There is a local race that will be pretty important, too.
I am referring to the question on the ballot that is going to ask residents of the Blue Earth Area School District whether they will approve building a new PreK to seventh grade school building.
There is no denying there is a big number involved – over $66 million to do this. Of course, you are going to need to know that some state funding, in a program called Ag2School, will reduce that actual amount to taxpayers by about half. Yeah, really. And some of the money is going to badly needed upgrades to the high school building, which is now about 30 years old.
How do I know that? Well, mainly because I attend a lot of Blue Earth Area School Board meetings. Like, pretty much all of them.
But, you can also find out about this. All of the information about this proposed new school building is now on the BEA School District website. And, it is pretty easy to access and it is full of important information.
I urge you to take a look.
Why is a new school building needed? Where will it be located? What all will it include? What will happen to the current building? And, how will this big project affect my personal property taxes? All that, and more, is on the website, in full detail.
Please, take the time in the next couple of months to look it over, and become an educated voter. There are also going to be some public informational meetings, and a chance to tour the old school.
I know there are a lot of folks who will just say, “$66 million bucks? That is way too much money and I am going to vote no.” That is, of course, their right to do so. But I am going to make a plea for you to become an educated voter. Look at all the facts first, then make up your mind and then vote no if you wish.
The current school building has some parts that are 100 years old.
Other smaller parts of the overall building were put in as ‘temporary’ classrooms 40 years ago. There are enough issues with the current building that it will take a ton of money to correct them all.
There is, of course, the nostalgia issue to look at, too, especially for those who went to school there, or played ball in the historic Pemberton Auditorium. But nostalgia only goes so far, folks.
So please study the facts about the project, the reasons it is needed, what all will actually be involved with it. And check that spot where you can see what impact it will have on your own property taxes. It is pretty cool, you just put in your parcel number and it calculates the increase.
Nobody likes paying more taxes, and some of us already saw a boost or two in our property taxes, for things like new sewer and water lines and new streets, or having our property re-evaluated. Like those things, this would also be an investment in the future. A bigger one.
Be an informed voter come Nov. 5.
And, that also goes for that presidential race thing as well. Cut through the rhetoric, the insults, the multitude of negative ads, the misinformation on Facebook and other social media, and make an informed choice.