Hey...go for it.

Any that can...and want to...give...have my thanks.

BUT...anyone who condemns those that are not in the same position...shame on you.

Funny how DuWayne didn't have all his business buddies show up to speak against raising taxes. It just goes to show that besides a few bloggers and teabaggers out there, most people are in favor of helping our schools, students, teachers, administrators, community, etc., out in giving $50-100 more in the coming years. Nice to hear the positive support at these meetings!

Thinkfuture....at what point in time did standing tall at a public hearing trump the rights of other taxpaying citizens?

Me... teaparty? WOW...you are so far off kilter..everything you post from this point on is irrelevant.

What is YOUR definition of an "engaged populous"? (Not that it matters in this discussion)

Backroom deals? Seriously?

Apparently you have no concept of how the interaction between voter/taxpayer and elected official actually works.

Just ask your elected official for the transcripts of contacts from their constituents, it's public information.


You, my friend, need a lesson in civics.

And that "peak" was in 1995, more than 13 years ago!

If you compare elementary enrollment from the link provided by dsfamily. The elementary enrollment dropped 7.8% from the peak to last year. Where did the person from this article get 15%?
The peak was 5201 and last year was 4793.
I've heard that enrollment is up this year from last year. It will be interesting to see when the Friday count numbers come out.

they don't have the 2011-2012 enrollment numbers listed yet, but going back 13 years would be the 1998-1999 school year there was 4,986 elementary kids enrolled. So a 15% drop would be what somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 and some students? Did we really lose that many? Possibly, but wow that's a lot!

the numbers don't seem to "jive" with what the article is saying! some unnamed "officials" say it is a 15% decline in elementary enrollment for the past 13 years...I don't think so! the official numbers sure don't show that!

The real numbers are right here Joan: these are the actual numbers from the school district of Janesville and they are being report on the Department of Publ;ic Instructions website. You can narrow them by clicking on the blue link at the top of the bar graphs. http://data.dpi.state.wi.us/data/GroupEn...

If enrollment is actually down by 15%, then that would justify not raising taxes on the schools in recent years. Here's one article from 2010:

http://gazettextra.com/news/2010/sep/25/...

I have calculated a 3% decrease since 2008 (from 9948 to 9641). Does somebody have the real numbers? We'd like to see 2001 elementary enrollment counts and 2011. Thanks!

Janesvilleliving - right on! Way to take responsibility. People without kids shouldn't have to pay as much as those with kids. Those with more kids should have to pay more, etc....

I have only heard that there are less kids now because GM folks left town, so one less school might be warranted. I don't like for anyone to lose their job though.

Same thing happened back in the 70's. It was fun to have new kids in our school. Mixed it up a bit. My school was partly condemned, and we had classes in trailers. We didn't just build new schools willy nilly back then. I had to exist under those conditions, so I guess I feel that the crisis we are in are due to new buildings, a laptop for every child, when they should be sharing laptops instead or using paper and pen. Why does everything have to be so fancy? They don't care. They just want to learn. Better to offer summer tutoring than to spend your money on such expensive items.

We always need teachers, paper, a pen and four walls. That's about it folks! Not a new science building and pool.

Just make sure it's the oldest most crumbled up school and it will seem okay to the kids who get to attend the nicer school.

factsplease: Your point is, Janesville's school tax levy has increased very little since 2001. Hey, you should see what MY school tax levies did over that same 10-year period! I would say that Janesville's average annual increase in school tax levy has been very small indeed. It's just not as ridiculously small as you've stated. Fortunately, mathematics and facts are not matters of opinion.

One cannot simply average annual percentages when the product of those annual increases (or decreases) is COMPOUNDING year to year. It is not possible to go from a tax levy of $30.06M in year #1 to a tax levy of $35.88M in year #10 with an average annual increase of 0.73%. That fact of reality is easily proven with simple arithmetic:

First, increase your actual Year #1 levy of $30.06 by 0.73% (x 1.0073) to calculate a hypothetical Year #2 tax levy of about $30.28M. Next, increase that hypothetical Year #2 levy of $30.28M, again by 1.0073, to calculate a hypothetical tax levy for Year #3. Do this for a total of nine times. (It is really easy if your calculator has a "constant function".) Now, apply that same 9-step procedure using 2% (x 1.02), instead of 0.73%. So, which average annual increase got closest to your actual $35.88M tax levy in Year #10? Was it 0.73% or 2%?

spoken like a real johndoe...promoting anonymity over public discourse.
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you mention lots of good reasons for not coming to a public hearing, but share none.
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how do you know your tea party friends have spoken to the board members? how many calls constitute "the people?"
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A majority of the engaged populous has been promoting a full funding of education and keeping all schools open.
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Stop the back room deals. Open dialogue!

in 1995-1996 -10586 total. 2010-11 -10334 total students. That is a 2% decrease in enrollment! SOmeone tell me how that translates to this huge call for less teachers? 254 less kids out of 10500? Hardly a huge drop in enrollment methinks.

I disagree with Mr. Sodemann about the teacher pay and benefits being the main reason JSD is in the fix they are in. The numbers were crunched at the time the contract was negotiated, raises and all.I would hope if everything from the state had stayed the same, the budget would have balanced. The STATE NUMBERS CHANGING is a big reason we have a deficit. Could the teacher's help? Yes, but so could tax payers (which include many teachers). Could more cuts be made? Sure. Will closing a school help? Maybe. It will probably take a combination of solutions to solve the problem. Since the contracts are locked for now, the school board should concentrate on changes they can make. Maybe next yr, the JEA will help some. They won't have to, but maybe they will choose to.

fool-I was averaging the percent increase/decrease and you are averaging the total amount collected. Since the population of Janesville increased by around 3,500 people between 2000 and 2010, your numbers (even with your fancy formula) do no reflect the correct increase per household, but the total collected which would be higher due to the increase in population. The amount that any one taxpayer's share was increased was .73%.

That blood-curdling scream you hear is fool_on_the_hill biting his tongue. ;-)

Too many people seem to think that the only voices that count, are the ones heard at a public hearing.

Well I've got news for you. Are you listening Thinkfuture?

There is a reason contact numbers are listed in the Gazette for every school board and city council member.

Every citizen is encouraged to contact their' elected officials and let them know their views.

There are many reasons people choose not to speak at public hearings. That, in no way, should diminish their voice.

So yes, Thinkfuture, "The voices have spoken" and they overwhelmingly have said, "DO NOT RAISE MY TAXES."

this one link I could find showing enrollment, I'll keep looking for more to help with your request fear http://data.dpi.state.wi.us/data/GroupEn...

In no way do I believe the taxes should be raised, and I don't believe that a school should be closed either. Every parent in this town needs to put their money where their children need it, into their childs education! I am an unemployed taxpayer with two children. and I honestly believe that I should pay more than $42 for my 9th grader's education this year, and I believe that I should be paying more than $24 for my kindergardener's education. I'm sure there are going to be a lot of parents that disagree, but seriuosly... if every parent payed $100 per year for their child's education (a total of $1300 from kindergarden to 12th grade)would that actually be to much to ask? I don't think so! I believe that is my job as a parent.
I also believe that my neighbors and fellow community members that don't have children should have to pay more for my children to go to school, because that is what will happen if taxes are raised. We all know that!
I do whole heartedly believe that it is my responsibility as a parent to get my children the best education that they deserve; therefore, it is MY responsibilty as a parent to make it happen! If that means that some parents have to tighten their financial belt, then so be it.. It is THEIR job as a parent to do so, not the rest of the communities, or the states.

here's a link that gives numbers that factsplease is using for tax levies and as far as the 15% decrease in enrollment, I'm guessing that is coming right from the article above where it states: "Officials also cite a 15 percent decline in elementary enrollment in the past 13 years." I would venture a guess that if this is coming from the school district they would be the ones to know how many kids are in the district and whether that number has been going up or down! I'm not sure about that fancy formula and maybe I'm just old-school, but I do remember high school math and that doesn't look like how you figure an average to me! add all the numbers and divide by total number of items and that is average. Maybe this is new math you're doing fool_on_the_hill, but it doesn't look like averaging to me! http://gazettextra.com/news/2011/jul/25/...

factsplease: It's actually 1.987%. I rounded it to an even 2%.

FV = PV * (1+i)^t

where:
PV is the present value
FV is the future value
i is the annual increase
t is the number of years

or

$35.88M = $30.06M * (1.01987)^9

Even at 2% that is still less than the rate of inflation. The arguement remains, why close a school? Where is SOME dissent for keeping taxes where they are? Other than bbloggers, Idon't see it. Show up make your voices heard.
Also Janesville enrollment HAS NOT decreased 15%, where do you get that number. I want alink to the numbers I have seen them before and the numbers now as opposed to 10 years ago are not that different, someone please post a link or prove me wrong, I believe the numbers are VERY similar within a hundred of 10 years aggo.

fool-I showed my work, let's see yours. How did you get that average?

FYI, the average increase for the 9 year period from 2001-02 to 2010-11 is about 2% per year, not 0.73%

jd- I agree with you that raising taxes is not my first choice either. I agree with most of what you say, but if factsplease's number are correct look at the average increase in taxes! It averages out to less than 1% avg increase that doesn't even keep pace with inflation/cost of living adjustments! I am kind of surprised we have not run into problems earlier!? jp53545 makes a good point and as it states in the article if enrollment really is down that much shouldn't we look at how many elementary schools do we need to house all of the kids? But if we start down that path wouldn't we have to reorganize the entire district to balance students across the board? Because if you close one school all of the kids would have to be absorbed somewhere else. And going to the nearest school would just overwhelm and overpopulate that school, so an entire shift would have to happen throughout to redistribute what school kids attend to keep them all balanced and under how many people they can hold. Would that cost more money and how much? I think we need all of the facts and the board definitely needs to do its homework and really study the issue and ALL costs involved! Would we really save that much from a school closing? I don't think so if you look at all of the numbers and facts. I think there are really only two options 1) cut spending- first eliminate wasteful spending and waste in general, identify clearly wants and needs in terms of spending- is it absolutely necessary to teach/learn or run the district? if not then it is a want not a need and wants need to be cut back on, cut unnecessary positions- how many aides do we need, can't teachers do their own jobs anymore, they need aides to help them? Which absolutely need aides and why? I think special education needs them for sure, but how about others? How many office staff do we need? Can one person do the job or do we really need those three people to do one's job? and if necessary as a last resort layoff teachers if we don't need all of the excess if there aren't kids to teach (but that needs to be certain we don't get too high of kids to teacher ratio or else learning will be impacted) Teachers should be the absolute last to be cut and reduced. But seriously, the board needs to look at everything and reevaluate everything to make an informed decision is made and rather than stick with the status quo. 2 raise taxes after all attempts to control spending have failed and be prepared to justify those tax increases!

hey maybe the gazette could use their reach to do a poll and take the citizen's actual pulse on this issue and see where some people stand on this issue! maybe then we can see some results of what people think beyond just a blog?!

good suggestion and thank you courtjester, have already done it before this last meeting, suggesting a referendum and expressing my opinion to not raise taxes and figure out how to live within the means instead of immediately going to the idea that the taxpayers are a bottomless pit of income so just raise taxes instead of being responsible. Guess I can write another one for this upcoming meeting, too!

The write a letter to the school board to be read aloud at the next meeting. Surely you can find time to do that?

thinkfuture take your own advice and you quit whining, because that is all I see coming from you. I actually work for a living and when it comes down to working or going to a public hearing, hmm, which one am I going to go to, the one that pays me or the one where I might not be listened to or have my opinion count when there "60 or so" others saying the other thing that I am...tough choice.

If enrollment is down 15% then they really should be closing 2 schools.

So far there have been two public listening sessions, and the response both times has been 100% "don't close any schools". If there are so many people who want the district to close a school, why are they not coming to the meetings and voicing their opinion? There is a meeting on Thursday, Sept. 22. If you do not come and participate in the meeting, then I guess the community has spoken.

Sigma...if brains were dynamite...

Diane Eyers, look your neighbor directly in the eye, and tell him that in nearly every interaction in his life--from dealing with a grocery clerk, to consulting a health care professional--he is enjoying the benefit of an educated public. Nothing is free. We should all gladly pay for this privilege.

jd30033--quit whining and show up at a public hearing then.
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The whole point of a public hearing is to hear from the public, so decisions can be made in the public for the public. The private hearings apparently hosted by DuWayne Severson with area "business people" in NOT how democracy should work.
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DuWayne is hiding behind these alleged "business people." I suspect he feels his taxes shouldn't be raised and is ignoring the responsible constituents that show up at the public hearing.
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Next public hearing meeting is Thursday, Sept 22nd. Date and time to be announced.

I am a little disappointed that board members seem to think they are so smart they can fix our problems and we should leave it up to them instead of putting it to a referendum. "That's why I'm an elected official—to make those decisions on the budget," Well newsflash, the board hasn't done so well so far have they?

so because a few outspoken people keep saying "raise my taxes" that means everyone thinks this way? Well my household does not support "raise my taxes", the district needs to find ways to live within its means like everyone else has to do. Tax more is not the answer, cut your budget and live within your means.

In the last 10 years, Janesville has averaged .73%, yes, less than 1% per year, of tax increases to support the schools! Since this is way below inflation and our state aid drops when we tax less, we have essentially been making CUTS for the past ten years. We have hit the bottom of possible cuts! The cuts this year will have a negative impact and further cuts will be very damaging. It's time to "catch up" with the taxes to support the schools!
RECENT JANESVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT TAX LEVIES
Year Levy Increase (Decrease)
2001-02 $30.06 million (1.15%)
2002-03 $28.66 million (4.65%)
2003-04 $28.67 million 0.03%
2004-05 $30.79 million 7.39%
2005-06 $29.31 million (4.8%)
2006-07 $29.09 million (0.75%)
2007-08 $33.22 million 3.43%
2008-09 $34.21 million 2.98%
2009-10 $34.77 million 1.63%
2010-11 $35.88 million 3.19%
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(11.35) is decreases
18.65 is increases
18.65-11.35=7.3/10=.73

Wait, what? I must've missed something by not keeping up here (understand it gets harder and harder to read through all the liberal spin, double standards and unbelievable comments here, it usually leaves me wondering most times, but I won't go on...)What happened to the $3 million surplus the Gazette reported a few weeks ago? Was it someone from the math department using too many guzintahs?
If the board decides to close Kennedy does that mean Janesville residents will get a tax break for all the money we were bilked out of when they said it needed to be built?, or is it like when the high schools had their remodeling, including field houses that were not approved on that referendum that went over budget(and when I say over budget we're not talking about a few hundred or even a few thousand, we're talking SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS)I ask is this going to go like that, where we were just outright lied to? They needed Kennedy and the previously mentioned remodeling done because of over crowding, and that over crowding came from making the high schools four year schools (instead of the previously three year that worked fine for so many years) the over crowding was self created, and now it appears that Kennedy wasn't needed to begin with either.
The days of freewheeled spending needs to come to a halt immediately, the cities taxpayers are maxed out and it seems that it's always only going to cost a "few dollars more in taxes", how many times can a city be lied to before it realizes things aren't being run properly?
AND NO I HAVE NO INTEREST IN RUNNING FOR ANY KIND OF OFFICE!, I just want those in those elected and non-elected office to think long and hard about what it does to a city that has no more to give before they ask us for what we no longer have due to poor economic times we now live in........

I can't figure out why they continue to say "Close a School". They aren't closing anything, they would "repurposing" a school. The school would be filled with offices, and classrooms that are currently in rented facilities, costing a ton of money. When you say "close", it brings to mind a vacant building.

""Diane Eyers, a Kennedy parent, said her neighbor has no children in school and it's hard to look him in the eye and say she wants to raise taxes""
I have an idea Diane ask your neighbor if he went to school, someone else paid for his education! This whole guilt crap because someone doesnt have kids in school is stupid!! These people all attended school and anyone who attended a public school had their education paid for by other taxpayers, so its time to stop the guilting of others who may not have kids in school, they live in society they pay taxes, PERIOD!! Dont like it? Sorry , then dont own a home, its part of the responsibility.

"DuWayne Severson said the business people and others he talks to are dead set against higher property taxes. 'We need to listen to all our constituents, not just the ones who are in this room,' Severson said."
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Duwayne...those business people you meet with at your private hearing must come forward to the public meeting! This is how democracy works. It should not be back room deals and discussions you have with your tea party cronies.
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The voices have spoken. One hundred percent of the constituents at the public meeting spoke in favor of raising taxes and fully funding public education in Janesville. You need to listen to the public and drop your private agenda.

Jqpublic: You're absolutely right! I turned down a somewhat more lucrative job in Janesville because your city is dying a slow death and it's the last place I want to move my child. No one in their right mind would want to move there in your current economic climate with your school system in a shambles.

Sigma40: You are absolutely hilarious. Janesville is in this situation because the School Board has not taxed! Don't blame the teachers! Also, a line of 700-800 teachers waiting for a job? Wanting to move to Janesville? You should perform at the Armory on Comedy night!

Come on Sigma & Mr. Peck--if you agree to donate $5400 (estimated amount requested by the average JEA member to bail out the district) for the rest of your professional career, I'll match your donation and join your band wagon to hound teachers to do the same.
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Now remember...no consideration should be given to your past sacrifices, hardships in your family, the uncertainty of the future, the real possibility that $5400 requested sacrifice amount will increase annually, and the fact that we will be part of small minority in community of 60,000 contributing to a community-wide problem.
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Come on, Sigma & Mr. Peck, do the right thing and stand up for the children!

So teachers threatening to leave is going to pressure a decision? Take your time and think it thorough.. maybe if you did that more often we wouldnt be 9 million in debt. No acts of desperation... we want acts of logic. What the teachers are doing or have planned should be not even thought of. I'd give the teachers an assignment seeing they want more money. Tell the teachers/principals of janesville they have 3 years to clear the debt of 9 million. Whether they cut costs, all agree to pay cuts, somewhere there has to be a way. After 3 years the money from the cuts can go to their raise. In 3 years if this isnt done fire them all and hire new. In 3 years there should be a line of new teachers waiting. Ones that will appreciate a job. Problem is there is no discipline.