Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I am published...again.


Here are a few letters to our town paper, The Waconia Patriot, that just got me mad and thinking.  I don't feel that the school board or the superintendent want their own way.  They want what is best for the children of this community. 


Here is just one of mean guy's letters.  Maybe he needs to poop.

School district referendum: Round 2

Published: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 9:59 AM CDT
To the editor:

Last week's headline in the Waconia Patriot announcing another school referendum is stunning. In only two months time, the school board is back attempting to sell another plan.

Like a petulant child, they are throwing a temper tantrum. It is clear the board and superintendent hold the taxpayer in utmost disdain and contempt. Who are we to question their authority, wisdom and foresight? Who are we to send them an embarrassing 2.7 to 1 defeat?

So the board is taking an $8 million defeat, raising it to $17 million and selling it as being "tax neutral"? In other words, your taxes will never go down, only continue to increase. That, according to the superintendent is the board's version of "due diligence." I call it changing lipstick on a pig!

And soon thereafter, the push will be made for a new high school. More "tax neutrality"? The disconnect with reality is astounding!

With no improvement in the economy, it is irresponsible to burden the taxpayer with undoubtedly higher and certainly a prolonged tax liability. Yet the board seems oblivious to this. Rather they appear motivated to craft any clever plan to get their way.

The Reinhardt Study failed, now we have "tax neutrality." The voters appear to favor the "tax elimination" plan. The gauntlet has been thrown down and the battle is on.

I presume the school district has an anti-bullying policy. Does any of it apply to the taxpayers?

Joe Polunc

Cologne
_____

Then this guy wrote in and I thoroughly agree with him.


School capacity issues aren't going away

Published: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 10:53 AM CDT
To the editor:

The Waconia Patriot's "Letters to the Editor Policy" clearly states that the number of letters accepted from a single letter writer may be limited during the course of a year. Please advise your readers when Joe Polunc of Cologne will reach his limit. We have been subjected to enough of his opinions.

The school board and superintendent are using the best information available to them to plan for an inevitable future of growth.

Voters obviously did not agree with their last proposal, but the school capacity issues that face District 110 are not going to go away. I have never attended a school board meeting, but I am still confident that the board and superintendent know more about the facts of our situation than any reader with an opinion.

If you believe that the board is "changing the lipstick on a pig," then constructively participate. To do otherwise is to be "like a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum."

Mark Billstrom

Waconia

______

Then these three letters were in the paper.


Board isn't looking at data, all the options

Published: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 4:40 PM CDT
To the editor:


I have always thought of the editorial page as being open to a wide variety of opinions on many topics. Some more contentious than others. I have written three letters addressing the proposed Waconia school expansion.


I have looked at the data supplied and stated that the school board has fallen short of a convincing argument. The voters agreed. We are now facing another referendum on Nov. 2. Student enrollment may eventually support a new school or two, time will tell. Those of us holding the school board to a higher standard do not want the children to fail! We want academic excellence along with fiscal responsibility.


As to my detractor, Mark Billstrom, I have no control over the editor's decision to publish. I can only research, write and submit. Yet if I was supportive of the school boardÕs proposals, would Mr. Billstrom object? He has faith in the boards' ability to make decisions.


At this point I do not. I believe the board is not looking at all the data and options. Mr. Billstrom, I am being constructive by my participation on this page. I have no option other than to speak openly here, but I accept your verbal arrows as part of the discourse.


However there is another issue. I am writing as a committee of one. I do not represent anyone else or any group.


This may not be the case with Mr. Billstrom. He is willing to give the school board a blank check of approval. Rather overzealous in his support I thought. After a little research, I discovered he is the chairman for the city of Waconia Planning Commission. Hmm. A significant development.There may be different motives at play. How supportive is the Planning Commission with the school board? Wouldn't a new school(s) be an attraction for new growth? He is not just a local interested resident, in my opinion.


Freedom of speech is like sunlight. It finds the truth hidden in the shadows.


Joe Polunc


Cologne

Where is common sense approach to new school?

Published: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 4:40 PM CDT
To the editor:

This letter is in regard to Mr. Billstrom's letter of Aug. 4 about Joe Polunc's letter to the editor. It must be distressing and irritating to read the truth when one has divergent opinions.

Contrary, I believe the Patriot circulation department would benefit greatly if it was possible to employ Mr. Polunc to write a weekly column for the Patriot. One column I would like to see is why the school board is hell-bent to build a school six miles from its base core which shares a property line with a very suitable site for schools and athletic fields.

Has anyone computed the cost of moving students daily between the existing facilities and the proposed site? I assure you it would be significant. It seems common sense has taken a prolonged vacation.

Keep them coming, Joe! Thank you.

Roman Sinnen

New Germany

Who is "We?"

Published: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 4:40 PM CDT
To the editor:

In the Aug. 4 edition, Mark Billstrom writes about Mr. Joe Polunc, another letter writer, and says: "...we have been subject to enough of his opinions ...."

First question, who is we? You are stating you speak for more people than yourself. Well, do NOT include me in your "we." I also suspect most of the Waconia Patriot readers should not be included in your "we."

Here is a hint. If you don't like a certain letter writer, don't read those letters. Do not attempt to curtail that person's First Amendment rights!

Mr. Polunc's letters are clear, concise, and well researched. They give a view of the way things really are. Perhaps you don't like them because they conflict with your view. But is that not the point? To offer more than one view on a subject, so a decision can be made?

Perhaps you would feel more comfortable living in a country where the right to free speech is controlled. And where one's opinion can land them in jail if it is the "wrong" opinion. There still are many available.

Tom Radde

Mayer

______

Maybe they all need a good enema.
I know we all don't agree on the same ideas or plans, but I would like to know how many times these three people have been to a school board meeting.

And so here is my response:

Make a difference - run for School Board

Published: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 4:27 PM CDT
To the editor:

I don't know Mark Billstrom, but I too am weary of reading what people think should be done. I want to see Roman Sinnen, Joe Polunc and Tom Radde run for the school board and try to make the changes they want made.

If all you do is complain without stepping up to help make changes for the better, you are just a complainer. And eventually no one wants to be around a compulsive complainer.

Lisa Amott

Waconia

1 comment:

Eric N said...

What a grouchy dickhead. He had another kinda hate-ish racist letter this week.

Eric Nelson