TO THE EDITOR:
The Becker school district is painting a rosy view of the tax hike they are proposing for district residents. Don’t be fooled by their rhetoric, this is a tax hike on residents who already pay some of the highest school taxes in the region. We own property in three area districts and, at .47%, Becker charges by far the highest rate based on residential homestead property value. After researching public property records we found Monticello district residents pay approximately .34%, Princeton .38%, Foley .42%, Annandale .34% and St Cloud District taxes at .33% of property value.
Voting for this tax hike eliminates the reduction we should receive, and then we’ll face larger increases when they need funds for an education levy. Which they will, because this bond doesn’t include money for the actual education of our students. By allowing them to sell hikes as “no new taxes” our rates will continue creeping up every time they want more money. It’s time the Becker district put educating students above cosmetic upgrades like replacing “outdated flooring” and adding synthetic turf.
We expect our government to use tax dollars wisely. Let’s hold our school district to the same standard. Vote “No” May 11th.
Dennis & Rebecca Mix, St. Cloud, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
Being a paraprofessional in the Becker schools means that you love working with students. We get to be part of the progress students make both academically and emotionally. We help ensure the students are successful in their classrooms and life. We are fortunate to be part of their successes.
As a group we step up to new and different work assignments which this year with Covid is a perfect example of. Even though it has meant more exposure risk to us. We step up and said “YES” because our job is all about the “students.”
The Administration often says, “we appreciate you,” however as we bargain for a new contract, now going on eight months, it doesn’t feel like the Administrators are placing action behind those words. We are doing our part to make the school work and it is frustrating that we are not getting the respect we deserve.
The District wants to change our pay structure that has been in place almost 30 years. 92% of members have made it clear that keeping annualized pay is essential. Annualized pay is a very important way of supporting our families on a low income. We don’t make six figures so our pay structure makes a real difference in our daily lives and in our abilities to take care of our families. We have tried to meet administration halfway negotiating on this issue with no success at all. Shouldn’t what the majority want matter?
Kind regards,Rikke Hansen & Denise Offerdahl, Becker, MN
TO THE EDITOR:
Dr. Heather Abrahamson, I appreciate you sharing what BHS is teaching our kids in regards to the Constitution. Though I think there is much reason for concern.
I agree all voices should be heard, however, not all voices have the same validity, especially in regards to the LGBTQ and the Constitution. Those who wrote the Constitution lived in a Judeo-Christian era, knowing there was a Creator, who made us male and female. These values influenced the documents they wrote, as shown in Article VII of the Constitution, “done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven”, (www.usconstituion.cc/#7).
Struggles of those in the LGBTQ movement are real, and I have much compassion, but to acknowledge this movement as part of the Constitution is hurting our future generations of students. We the People and the Constitution allowing all to vote no matter one’s color, race or sex, understood the word people and sex to mean a biological male or female, not an orientation.
Fayth Brennan, Becker, MN
