Surprising That The Candidates' Positions On The Referendum Seems To Be The Sole Criteria

The referendum on November 8, will pass or fail no matter how the board candidates vote.  Are we so polarized as a community, this is all we can focus on?  95+% of us agree something needs to be done to our facilities; that is a given.  However, are we in such a hurry to do something/anything we lose sight of the broad picture.


When I vote on November 8; for board candidates, my thoughts will be on selecting the best candidates to come in next January, and work with either a passed referendum or failed referendum.  If the referendum passes, someone to make sure the proceeds from the bond sale are maximized for the good of the district.  If the referendum fails, someone who is capable of framing the next attempt to be successful.

The Ball Is In Whose Court?

An article on commercial construction in MN indicates we are still in a buyers' market!

Some interesting excerpts:

“That was the philosophy we took 10, 12 years ago — reaching out into the Upper Midwest,” said John Campobasso, senior vice president of business development for Kraus-Anderson.
Campobasso said there’s work throughout the region, but the marketplace is highly competitive.
“It’s not back to the boom era by any means,” he said. “But we do see opportunities out there. That is a positive.”

Phil Raines of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Minnesota is seeing similar trends.
“Open bidding in Minnesota is especially poisonous right now and you have too many contractors bidding for work,” said Raines, Minnesota ABC’s vice president of public affairs. “The market here is obviously not as good as in Iowa or North Dakota. North Dakota is going crazy.”

Lets make every dollar count!!

2011 Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Scores Are In

Teachers say the new state exam was much more rigorous.  Rigorous is a bad thing?

2011 Individual district scores  Hit [+] on the left for years past.

2011 Individual school scores within Westonka  Hit [+] on the left for years past.

Stay Informed: 2011 ACT overall results

Referendum Presentation By Supt. Borg Tonight At 6:30

This evening's presentation will be at 6:30 at Hilltop Primary School, not Shirley Hills as displayed in the link!

A Key Piece Of Information For All Voters

Regardless of what side of the referendum issue you are on, you need to be aware of an important property tax issue that comes into play in 2012.  Starting next year, homes in Minnesota, will no longer receive the homestead tax credit which lowers property tax liability for homes assessed below $413,800.  This credit will be replaced with a "valuation exclusion" for a portion of the assessed value on certain homes assessed below $413,800.  It is too early to say with precision how this will affect individual tax bills across different communities, but the Star Tribune has an informative article written on the subject.  The general consensus is property tax bills will rise.


Part of the shift will go toward industrial and commercial properties.  Anyone who has lived in Westonka very long knows we don't have a very large inventory of those types of properties.
House Research also has a very informative piece on this topic.


As your school board representative, I will always strive to keep you informed on the issues as they pertain to critical and difficult decisions.

A Precise Example Of What I Was Talking About In My Candidacy Statement

This story in this morning's Star Tribune, underscores how several school districts in the state of Minnesota, were successful in landing $3.8 million in Federal grants for sidewalk repair.  Neighboring Minnetonka district was able to land $358,000.  Why not Westonka?  Why were we not able to secure any of these funds!  Sidewalk maintenance is part of the proposed maintenance referendum.