Board must answer for spending
I think Mr. (Doug) Mering owes the taxpayers of this district an explanation as to his comment in the BNR article printed April 15, and I quote: "The public can have their concerns but administrative salaries shouldn't be one of their concerns."
I'm not sure who's checkbook he is writing from but salaries and benefits are the biggest expense we have in our district's budget. It should be the concern of every taxpayer to know where their money is being spent. When reading the BNR article printed on April 15 I was with four other hard working or retired people who's annual salary added up never even came close to what's being paid to one administrator of $115,000, even though some of them work two jobs to make ends meet.
Our school board needs to quit "rubber stamping" everything that's costly and learn the word "No" someday. Try saying it sometime, you may like the word "No," us taxpayers would. It appears that the school board takes its direction and orders from the school's administration rather than the school board setting the rules and giving them the directions to follow. If this is the case, why do we have a school board? Oh, I forgot, to "rubber stamp" the spending of our tax money. I know teaching is not an easy job, probably one most of us wouldn't want either. Kind of like being a police officer. But it's not the money that drives them, I'm sure. It's hopefully the satisfaction that knowing they are making a difference in another person's life. I also believe that our school district is one of the best and has a lot to offer. Maybe far above and incomparable to many others. But it is too quick to spend the money. Too many undisclosed costs. If you think the 4K program is only going to cost us, the taxpayers, a mere half million, wait and see what the final costs are at the end of the first year of operation. It will be well over the $543,000 quoted to operate in the January 13 BNR article. Try adding another $100-$200,000 to that figure to probably be a better bet. Maybe any cost overruns should come from those people's salaries who will be responsible, then you would have accountability.
We live in an area that has been hit by hard economic times.
People have to realize this is not a six-figure salary work force area. The grass may be greener on the other side but I'm sure that other side can afford it, too. We can't. Personally I would rather see the teachers who are making the difference get the money instead of hiring another administrator or creating another position or program. Even better, spend the monies on the needed building repairs we have heard so much about or was that just "hype" over the last five years to include two failed referendums that were needed to do those needed repairs. What a grand idea that would be. And I don't make a six-figure salary to come up with it.
Terry Spencer,
Baraboo