The following is a letter I drafted in response to the failure of my home school district's referendum last week. I typically wouldn't use this, my business blog, to address matters of politics or the like, but I feel very strongly about the situation - strongly enough to put my feelings out there in the public eye.
Because this referendum failed, major cuts will have to be made by the next school year, including the following:
75 teachers will lose their jobs.
Two elementary schools will be closed.
18 0f 29 school league sports/activities will be cut.
Most (if not all) Advanced Placement classes will no longer be offered.
All junior high sports will be eliminated.
Obviously, this is a very big deal, and I'm at a loss for words that my former community wasn't able to recognize the importance of supporting our schools, teachers and administrators.
Without further ado,I've been watching the buildup, and fall-out of the recent referendum question with much interest, albeit from a distance here in Minneapolis. I grew up in Brainerd, and benefited greatly from the wide variety of programs that used to be offered by the Brainerd School District.
So I suppose it comes as no surprise that I'm saddened by the "no" vote. Frankly, I'm more than sad - I'm crushed.
I'm not crushed specifically because the referendum failed - in all truth, as I watched the results come back on www.brainerddispatch.com I was pretty proud of my hometown, if for no other reason than the massive turnout. I wasn't happy that the referendum looked doomed from the start, but as I learned a long time ago in advanced placement American government and AP American history, the beauty of our democratic system is that all the people are entitled to their own vote, regardless of whether I not or agree with it.
I just hope that the kids who don't get a chance to take AP government and history are able to pick that up somewhere, because I think it's pretty important.
Mostly I'm crushed because when these cuts are made, it's very easy for me to see nearly everything that I excelled at in school disappearing. I don't look at those programs as cushy extras when I reflect on my high school time, rather as the building blocks for who I am and what I do even now, nearly ten years after graduating from Brainerd High School. Because I can imagine how difficult a time this is for those folks who've built their lives around teaching other people's kids I thought I should pass along some thanks to those who lent a hand to me along the way.
Thank you to Mr. LaShomb and to the Fifth Street Journal - it was in this class that I discovered my love for news photography. That's a "frill" that stuck with me, as I now make my living as a freelance photographer. I'm not rich, but I love what I do, and wouldn't trade it for the world.
I really hope this class doesn't get cut, but I'm afraid it will.
Thank you to Ms. Carder and Mr. Thompson for their work in the outdoor education program, which was a part of the physical education program at BHS. It was in these classes that I learned to safely rock climb and rappel. I couldn't have known it at the time, but the knots, tips and safety procedures I learned all those years ago have been the foundation that allows me to photograph not only rock and ice climbing, but whitewater kayaking and several other sports as well. I'm able to set my work apart from my competition because I have the skills and knowledge to safely and effectively work and play in a very unique set of circumstances.
I really hope these classes don't get cut, but I'm afraid they will.
Thank you to coaches Meyer, Lyscio, Humrickhouse, Ratzloff, Hanson, Herath, LaShomb and any others I may have temporarily forgotten. These amazing people put in nearly endless hours coaching and supporting myself and my teammates in nordic skiing and cross country running. I wasn't big enough for football and I couldn't dribble a basketball to save my life (still can't!) but I could run and I could ski, and they taught me to be better at both. I made great friends that I would never have met in the classroom and I learned to push myself beyond where I thought I could go. Through these non-traditional sports I found athlete role-models that didn't get arrested for drugs, didn't serve time for abusing other people and weren't solely motivated by huge sums of money.
I really hope these sports don't get cut, but I'm afraid they will.
Thank you to Mr. Hunt and Mr. Razidlo, in whose offices I spent quite a bit of time. Not because I was in trouble, but because somewhere along the way I figured the school could be doing a better job with recycling all the cans and bottles produced by thirsty high schoolers. For a while there I became a pretty regular visitor to the offices of the Principal and Assistant Principal, as I lobbied to have proper recycling bins added to our hallways. I'm not sure if they thought it was a really good idea, or if they just wanted to get some work done without me always dropping by - whatever the reason, the recycling bins showed up and were nearly always filled to the brim. Thanks also to the custodians who took on the extra work of emptying them.
I really hope the public can begin to appreciate the difficult job our administrators and staff face everyday and stop complaining about them making a decent wage, but I'm afraid they won't.
Thank you to Mrs. LaShomb and Mrs. Niemi, who taught AP literature and composition. The lessons I learned in those classes helped me to do better in college than I had in high school. Being able to clearly and emphatically articulate my feelings in writing and speech is probably the best gift I've ever been given, and it serves me well to this day. Knowing a little bit about good books has helped a bit along the way too. Although I must admit with a heavy heart that it once inspired me to become a thief. I believe it was in AP Lit that I was assigned to read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a novel written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. I loved that little book - so much so that when it came time to turn them back in, I stole my copy. I've read it several times since, and while I'm not too proud of my actions, I have a suspicion that my teachers will forgive me - they're good people like that.
I really hope these classes don't get cut, but I'm afraid they will.
There are literally hundreds more that I should thank, from the support staff to the bus drivers and the coaches to the lunch ladies that had an immeasurable impact on me and lots of kids like me - so to all of you, I say thank you. Thanks for all your work and all your sacrifices. You are not forgotten, and I deeply regret that I wasn't able to cast my vote in support of the fantastic work you all do. If it was up to me, I would gladly pay more taxes to support you, for after all, you support our future.
Sincerely,
John Pedersen
BHS Class of 1998
Minneapolis, MN
