School Beat; "Memories of the Field House Years"

The other night I spent a little time listening to my favorite tapes of old of the Planning Commission. Not wanting to slight anyone, I also spent a little time listeing to those who advocated expanding our school system to include 4K and again...not wanting to slight anyone in my precious listening time, I also spent some time listening to the folks that want to spend 2 million to dredge Lake Leota as well as repair the walls of the creek....and also not wanting to offend anyone, I listened to the folks that want to build a new fire station, a new library etc.....Then I finally listened to the supreme listening pleasure---the Plunkett Raysich options where we had a choice of 22 or 44 million dollars of building expense.

Most of you do not have the vast amounts of listening time that I do and all of the audio so neatly listed on I tunes, so I will summarize:

Your tax bill is headed higher---very much higher very shortly.

Everything must be paid for. The schools must provide a space for students. If the community cannot plan for its growth, then plan for your taxes. It is coming.

In today's paper is the listing of Middleton as the number 1 place to live in America. On a $300,000 home, the taxes are just $6000. They are at the same level as us. And we are going higher.

Even though "NO" stamps can be purchased at Staples in Janesville for under $10, with enough ink built right in for 6000 stamps without reinking-----it does take someone who can and will use the stamp.

And then there is the Water and Light rate increase. It is a 13.00% increase reported in the Janesville Gazette via the Public Service Commission, or is it a 7.63% increase reported in the water bills---even though the joining of our community with WPPI was to bring a 5% rate decrease.

The reason for the disparity in these numbers, the best I can reckon, is that the cost of economic development is the big portion of this rate increase----this is the homeowners expense for expansion of the city. Mike Exum of Union referred to this in Union Planning recently when he said that the cost of $1 of development is $1.13 of cost to the present taxpayers.

Here is the Chinese Fortune Cookie summary: "Not Now but Soon---Higher Taxes."

What were the "Fieldhouse Years?"----those were the years that the fieldhouse was divided up to house elementary classrooms----it is a good thing that we saved the dividers---we will need them soon.