WCSB Special Referendum 5/17/2011

I would like to see more information.

Maybe Mark Davis will present some info.

Is this more money that would have gone to the elementary school at the new ECMS?

Well it definitely would reduce the amount of money within the Capital budget for 2011-2012. The flip side is that it would reduce the revenue available for the operating budget by 5.0+/- million as well.

One would really have to balance those two after looking at their 5 year capital budget needs and projected revenue to see if they will have the necessary revenues to fund the addition if that is what they decide.

In the last renewal referendum only 6% of the Walton County voters chose to participate in the decision. That is the reason I placed the Poll on this site - to encourage discussion and voter turnout.

I really hope that Mark Davis will step in and give us his thoughts and his understanding of Jim McCalls projections.

Calling Mark Davis

Well since I voted for Mark I'll follow his lead, he seems to be the most effective school board member.

Bob, I think you got it wrong. The special referendum is for the increased millage rate.

Sample ballot:

http://www.voterfocus.com/hosting/w... 2011/2011 Special Election Sample Ballot.pdf

Shall the Walton County School District ad valorem millage increase of .50 mill per year adopted by the voters in May 2007 for fiscal years beginning July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2011 be continued for the fiscal years beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2015 for operating expenses necessary to maintain the quality of Walton County's public school system?

My vote would be yes.

I understand that Jim McCall wrote the language for the ballot.

It is misleading in my opinion in that the language does not explain that the. 5 mils comes from the approved capital millage.

The School system has vowed to reduce the capital rate to match the increase in the operating rate, therefore it is in reality a transfer approved in 2007 that sunsets in June 2011 unless renewed by the voters.

If the referendum fails the operating revenues would be reduced by approximately 5.0 million. With the loss in stimulus dollars for next year on the horizon as well - the net effect would be devestating in terms of teachers.

I plan to vote for the continuation of the. 5 mils. (Some of my friends just fainted LOL)

It is realty revenue neutral to taxpayers.

.5 Mill Referendum

Please vote yes on the referendum. Bob is right. It is tax neutral. We are asking the voters to allow us to transfer a .5 mill from the capital outlay budget to the operating budget. As you know, the capital outlay budget is a budget where we can levy up to 2.0 mills for construction and maintenance of buildings. We have to ask the voters permission for the transfer every four years. This is the third time we have asked. When we first received permission from the voters to do this, we simultaneously reduced the capital outlay millage by the one half mill so there would not be a tax increase. In fact, since that time, we lowered the capital outlay millage again. So, this is not a tax increase. Just a transfer from one pot of money to the other.

This money will go to the operations budget which is the budget from which we pay teachers, buy materials, pay utilities, etc. We used the transferred money to initially raise teachers' salaries substantially so we could compete for good teachers with surrounding counties. We are there now. We now need the money to maintain those salaries given the State is continuing to shrink our operating budget. This half mill money is essential to maintain our current level of service.

As for the capital outlay budget, even after the reductions in that millage, I am confident we can begin the construction of the needed new elementary classrooms in south Walton. We have some other needs in the county which we can meet as well.

Lastly, someone asked whey the elementary classrooms were removed from a previous five year plan. Frankly, we decided to build a new ECMS and once completed, we believed the old building would provide adequate classroom space for elementary kids for at least three to five years. Obviously, as I stated before, we were wrong and we need to fix that as soon as we can.

Again, I don't think the transfer of the funds will prevent or slow down the construction of those classrooms. So, please support the referendum!

BIG BUMP!! We were at Artsquest this weekend and heard that the art and music teachers already been notified that art and music is the first to go if this does not pass. Seriously.

We also heard that the Walton County tea party people are working for a "no" vote. Ugh. Maybe one of them will correct me- I certainly hope so.

SO heads up South Walton. One of the things that makes us unique and cool is our strong arts- people move here because of it, real estate moves because of the artsy scene here, people visit and spend money here because of it- and now there is a real possibility that our kids won't have art and music at school! Wouldn't that be unreal and ridiculous? Vote YES on May 17th!

BIG BUMP!! We were at Artsquest this weekend and heard that the art and music teachers already been notified that art and music is the first to go if this does not pass. Seriously.

We also heard that the Walton County tea party people are working for a "no" vote. Ugh. Maybe one of them will correct me- I certainly hope so.

SO heads up South Walton. One of the things that makes us unique and cool is our strong arts- people move here because of it, real estate moves because of the artsy scene here, people visit and spend money here because of it- and now there is a real possibility that our kids won't have art and music at school! Wouldn't that be unreal and ridiculous? Vote YES on May 17th!

In regard to the upcoming May 17th referendum, there will be a meeting of the TEA Party Patriots at 6:00 P.M. in the meeting room at the South Walton Library on Thursday, May 12th. A presentation on the upcoming referendum and a question and answer session will be made by Supt. Anderson. All are invited to attend.

One thing more. There is no movement to vote "no" on the referendum by members of the TEA Party. It is time for some to realize that one of the main goals of the TEA Party is fiscal responsibility...by all levels and manner of government. My suggestion is to come Thursday evening and find out what the school issue and the TEA Party is really all about.

How to vote in special referendum

New to the area and have voted in regular elections, but would like to know where/how to vote for special referendum. I assume that my normal location for voting will not be where I should go this time?

NO!

When the school district starts operating in the spirit of the Sunshine Law and is more transparent in it's dealings maybe they can convince me to change my opinion. After all, this is the same outfit where they "lost" $1.4 million and then McCall "found" it by the next board meeting. Also, the board doesn't actually do anything or make any decisions. It's a rubber stamp committee for Carlene Anderson.

Please see MDD88jd post above. this is simply moving money from one category to another in order to keep valuable programs and teachers in our school system. Please vote yes for the children--not the proper place to attack the Superintendent IMO. There are other ways of making that change if that's what one thinks appropriate.

The district has misrepresented some things

Please see MDD88jd post above. this is simply moving money from one category to another in order to keep valuable programs and teachers in our school system. Please vote yes for the children--not the proper place to attack the Superintendent IMO. There are other ways of making that change if that's what one thinks appropriate.

At the end of the 2009-2010 school year a few very good teachers were non-renewed. One of these teachers had a masters degree more than 30 years experience, good evaluations and her first grade FAIR scores were the best of all the first grade units at that school. The district hired more than 60 teachers since then. No former teachers were given any consideration for rehire despite the conditions in Article 11.5 of the collective bargaining agreement which states that non renewed former teachers would be given first consideration for rehire. I can document and prove what I say. I'll be glad to show that proof to anyone. The board will not address the issue. It remains silent. And they want me to vote for this? Think a dam gin.

So you're pissed off at them for something else and that is what is determining your vote, not what is the best course of action?

I'm pissed off at them because they lied. Would you like to see the proof of what I have stated? Probably not. I'll give you my name address, telephone number, e-mail address, facebook page and I'll meet with anyone at their convenience and prove that the school district has lied about what they do.

I would love to have you start another thread and bring anything you deem important to our attention.

Just trying to sort if it has any bearing to this item before I cast a vote.

I'm only one person and one vote. I don't try to influence others. If a person chooses to believe someone who is lying that's fine. This is an interesting issue in that all of Walton counties politicians seem to be of like mind on this even though they claim to be Republicans who usually oppose the notion of "if you have a problem, throw money at it". My "problem" is that when I see something wrong I speak up. I don't subscribe to the idea of turning the other way and trying to justify unethical behavior by hiding behind statutes that insulate you from telling the truth.

So speak up, start a new thread, and give us some details/bring attention to the issue. Many voters could then be aware.