St. Louis County Schools Property Tax Information Site

Link Below:

Property Tax Information Site

Superintendent, Board Chair answer questions on school reorganization

Here is the link:

Superintendent, Board Chair answer questions on school reorganization

Referendum Top Ten Reasons To Vote Yes

Top Ten Reasons to Vote YES!

1. You want to avoid paying the considerably higher tax of neighboring school districts.

2. You want a local school that effectively prepares students for college and the workforce.

3. You want computers in the school that work consistently.

4. You want each elementary grade to have its own teacher.

5. You don't want families with kids to move out of the area.
.
6. You want subjects like foreign language, anatomy, literature, physics, creative writing and calculus taught by a real live person.

7. You want a new school that is "greener", safer, brighter, healthier, economical and more useful within our community.

8. You think activities like track, cheerleading, drama club, pep band, a golf team, school plays and musicals are good for kids.

9. You want educated people to move to our area bringing businesses, tax payers, and more students to our schools.

10. You want our community to show the pride and value it places in our young people and in our schools.

#2142 Bond Referendum Plan Tax Worksheet

Here is a link to a tax worksheet based upon District #2142 figures
(Total Levy $206 / $100,000 Home Basis) as of 11/01/09.

Compare and make the decision which is best for you in the upcoming referendum vote.

Link Below:

#2142 Bond Referendum Plan Tax Worksheet

Remember! A Yes Vote Is A Vote For Lower Taxes!

ISD 2142’s Plan to realign the District will be put to a public vote on Dec. 8, 2009.

Another excellent analysis of the bonding referendum:

Link Below:

ISD 2142’s Plan to realign the District will be put to a public vote on Dec. 8, 2009.

Letter to the Editor - Deciding School District #2142's Future

Here is an excellent analysis of School District #2142 regarding the upcoming bond referendum vote.

Link Below:

Deciding School District #2142's Future

Total School District #2142 Taxes 2009 - Updated Information For Effects Of The Referendum

Click On The Link Below:

Total School Taxes 2009 - Updated Information

Sponsor a Banner To Support The Pool Or Swim Team!

Some of you have asked if businesses and families could sponsor the area community pool or swim team and the answer is YES!

For more information please visit the Northeast Country Swim Boosters Website: Northeast Country Swim Boosters

ISD #2142 - St. Louis County 2010 Revenue By Source Chart

Hello all,

Below is a link to the (#2142 St. Louis County School District ) 2010 Revenue By Source Chart.

I think it is a really straight forward graphic that shows how dependent we are on state and federal funding. Only 16% of our funding is from local sources and I believe it shows how dependent we are upon one another for that funding source as well for the district to function.

Have a look!
Link Below:

ISD #2142 - St. Louis County 2010 Revenue By Source Chart

Absentee Ballot Application Form Available

For your information:
Visit The #2142 Website To Download:
St. Louis #2142 County School District
Absentee Ballot Application Form

Please send completed form to:
St. Louis County Schools - ISD # 2142
1701 North 9th Avenue, Virginia, MN 55792

Safety Share

Hello all,

A safety share is something that we use where I work at and is a means of sharing safe behaviors and maybe to avoid some future problems.

Well, here is mine. I am riding along after coming back from Lossing's Hardware this day and I pull up to the stop sign. I've pretty much got my mind on what I'm going to be doing to fix the broken spring on the garage door and during this time of year the fall clean up and associated work with it.

So, I pull up, stop, look both ways and have to wait for 2 people or so to go by and then our local police chief, Terry Switajewski who is turning by me. He stops and looks and I think, oh, he just wants to say "Hi". So, I wave, he looks and then passes on. I think, hmm, wonder what the long look was for. Well, I'm not particularly bright on this day so I go about my business.

So, what was up? Well, I'm down the road towards my house and look down. Ohhhhhh, Duh! My seat belt is off. Now, Terry had other alternatives when he saw me not wearing my seat belt but he chose to stop long enough to look and make me think a little.

At work, we say that before we start a task we need to look at it, determine if we have the correct tools and safety measures and have identified as many hazards as possible.

Suffice it to say that I should know better and I have been talked to before. My mind was on this later in the day at the high school as I watched some of our kids follow a good safe rule and others that didn't.

The message is, don't let your life get so busy that you can't take the time to think and follow safe procedure when operating your motor vehicle.
Take a minute and see what you could possibly be doing wrong and fix it before proceeding on with the task at hand. And that is in this case, Put On Your Seat Belt!, someone expects you at home tonight. If you are hurt or killed it will not be you who suffers, it is the family and friends who surround you in life.

Two more thoughts I have while I'm here is that I would like to take the time to thank Police Chief Terry for taking the time to care and point out in his own way what I needed to correct in my life. There are few communities that have as valuable an asset as our police department. We should care for it and nuture this when need be.

The second part is a safety share for this community. I have been hearing of the lack of 24 hours / 7 days a week police coverage in our community and that this has been approved by our city council.

Now, My thought is that someone in our community where we all know each other for the most part is going to need that help in a time of emergency or crisis and no one will be there because of this decision. Is your loved one worth this savings of dollars with the potential for loss of life because of this? Do we want this on our hands, I think not.

City Council: Take a minute, Is this a safe behavior for our community? Is it likely to have a good result all the time. If not, it is something that needs to be reviewed and revised so that we remove all possible hazards to the task that we are faced. 24/7 coverage is what this community needs and we should work to correct this as promptly as possible. If taxes need to be raised to achieve this then do so.

That is the end of my Safety Share.

I hope that everyone has a safe and happy year,

Bud Herring
Babbitt, Mn.

New Street Department Building Construction Update

Construction appears to moving quickly and efficiently on the new City Garage in Babbitt.

It will be a nice addition to our community.

Vote Yes! St. Louis County School Dist. #2142, Minnesota Bond Referendum Plan

A new website has been formed to inform residents of St. Louis County School District #2142 in Minnesota about the upcoming bond referendum vote and the importance of voting YES!

Here is the link:

http://voteyesfordistrict2142bondrefplan.blogspot.com/

Yes! E-News provided by supporters of the ISD2142 Bond Referendum and long range plan

Sept 16, 2009


ISD 2142 School Board studies consequences of failure if fall referendum does not pass,
concludes district could not survive.

September 15, 2009 – The ISD 2142 school board met Sept. 9 in a study session to consider the various consequences and
options for the district if voters do not pass a bond issue this fall. After in-depth discussions about programming cuts,
teacher layoffs, funding options, declining enrollment and school closures, the board concluded the district would need to
immediately begin closing schools, with district dissolution shortly following as an inevitable consequence.

The board acknowledged that if this fall’s referendum fails, decisions will immediately need to be made about closing three
to four schools starting in the summer of 2010 as an interim step. After that, the district would have to begin discussions
with nearby school districts to see how students might be absorbed into them.

“The school board has developed an affordable plan for restructuring the district, which would provide students with
expanded curriculum in modern learning environments, so hopefully voters will approve the plan and the options discussed
at this study session will never have to be implemented,” said Superintendent Dr. Charles Rick.

“Unfortunately, no matter
how you look at these options if a ‘no’ vote prevails, the board has little choice other than to close schools and make severe
program cuts.

It is becoming more apparent that our children would then ultimately have to attend school in other districts.”
The three-hour long study session began with Business Manager Kim Johnson reporting that despite millions of dollars of
spending cuts already, the school district will soon be out of reserve funds. She said if the referendum fails, the district
would most likely enter into “statutory operating debt” by fiscal year 2011, which means the State of Minnesota recognizes
that the school district can no longer balance its expenditures and revenues.

After agreeing that the district cannot expect to see increasing revenues – due to cuts in state funding, declining enrollment,
failure to pass three recent operating levies, and other factors – the school board looked at ways it might drastically reduce
expenses if the restructuring plan is not approved by voters.

The board discussed further reducing program offerings, cutting additional teachers, closing several schools, and a
combination of these approaches. Business Manager Johnson said with labor accounting for 75 percent of the district’s
expenses, the surest way to reduce spending would be to close schools.

“Unlike the recommended plan where we are responsibly investing in a restructured district by closing some schools, these
other options also close schools but don’t solve any of our financial challenges. These other options are not good for young
people and our entire region,” said Board Chair Robert Larson. “We’ve already cut programs and teachers several times to
make ends meet, and going any further will only cause parents to open enroll their children elsewhere. If we close schools,
which ones do we close?”

Part of the study session included a discussion of potential criteria that could be used to determine which schools to close,
including building age, enrollment size, geographic location, academic performance and others.
Board Member Darrell Bjerklie, who represents the Cherry attendance area, said, “It won’t matter which ones because the
others will be closed in short order.”

During the study session, consultant John Powers said that during an evaluation this past spring of optional school
configurations, principals at the district’s seven schools were asked how they would spend additional dollars for education if
a new option saved operating money, and also how they would trim nearly $600,000 from their budgets in order to keep all
seven schools open.

Three principals couldn’t even begin to suggest how to cut $600,000 from their budgets, Powers said,
and the other four would have to eliminate major education and activity programming.

“Bottom line is if we don’t pass this bond referendum we’ll be putting our schools in hospice,” added Board Member Gary
Rantala, who represents the Babbitt-Embarrass attendance area.

“There is no perfect solution out there,” said Superintendent Rick. “What we propose is good, but not perfect.

But I don’t see
any positive consequences coming out of a ‘no’ vote. We’re here to provide excellent education for our young people. That
should continue to be our main priority.”

Fall 2009 Community Swimming Pool Activities

For more information please visit the Northeast Country Swim Boosters Website:

http://necswimboosters.blogspot.com/

School District #2142 Opinion Survey Results

August 24, 2009 – Sixty percent of adults living in the St. Louis County School District (ISD 2142) would vote in favor of the referendum to fund the proposed realignment of ISD 2142 if the election were held today, according to findings of a scientific survey conducted earlier this month. Eighty-nine percent said the District needs to make some major changes in how it operates schools because of declining enrollment.

Source: St. Louis County #2142 Website:

For more information click below:

http://www.isd2142.k12.mn.us/index.htm

Meetings

Tops #588 of Babbitt, now meets at 8:30 AM Thursdays at the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
New members welcome for more info. Call 827-2277.

VFW, and Auxiliary meetings will be held the second Monday of the month at 7 PM in the Senior Citizen Room at the City Hall in Babbitt.

AA group meets every Tuesday, 8 PM at the Presbyterian Church in Babbitt.

Babbitt Bowling Association Meeting

The Babbitt Bowling Association will hold their annual membership and Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, August 27 at 6 PM at Ten Pin Alley. League officers, especially the league secretaries, are encouraged to attend. The start up dates for the league are: Monday Mixed September 14, Tuesday Business September 8, Wednesday Singles September 9, Thursday Women September 10, and Peter Mitchell September 10. All USBC memberships must be purchased. The first night of bowling. The membership remains at $15 per member. For further information contact Jim Lassi, Association Manager.

Campbell's Labels For Education

You could win 25,000 worth of art, athletic and academic year for our school. Log on to

http://campbellsoup.promotionexpert.com/busloadofgear/index.html

http://www.labels for education.com, or enter Campbell's labels for education into a search engine and click on the yellow box in the bottom left corner. Fill out the information and enter "Babbitt Embarrass School" for our school name. You can enter once per day until October 31. Thank you for supporting our school.

School District #2142 Reorganization Plan / Tax Implications - Vote Yes! In December

If you vote yes:

1) You get to keep a local school.

2) Your taxes remain low comparable to relative school districts.

These are what your taxes will be if our students go to another district after #2142 is dissolved. Compare this to the St. Louis County reorganized rate of $176/$100,000 home if you vote Yes!

Reorganization Plan:

Taxes For a $100,000 Home:

Mesabi East: $289

Ely: $251

Virginia: $326
Source: ISD #2142 Website:

Which would you rather pay? $176/$100,000 home and have a school in our town or pay from $251 - $326/ $100,000 home and not have a school in our area?

If you vote no:

1) You will not get to keep a school in your area.

2) School District #2142 will dissolve.
3) Your taxes will be higher than the current #2142 reorganization plan as the students in this area will be going to school in either Ely, Mesabi East, or Virginia or the nearest remaining school district of your choice if you vote NO. Their tax rates are listed on the above chart from the #2142 Website.
Not Voting at all amounts to a No Vote so unless you want your taxes increased to higher levels because we no longer have a school , Vote Yes!

The direct link is here:

http://www.isd2142.k12.mn.us/2142_forms/2142%20Community%20Presentation.pdf

This reorganization plan is good for our community and school. It is a bargain relative to the alternative of closing of the #2142 School District.
Pay less and keep our school!



Vote Yes In December!