Plum City referendum

To the editor,

My name is Brian Nadeau and I am the Superintendent for the Plum City Schools. When I began this role last summer, I quickly realized the pride the Plum City community has in their schools and the care they have for students of all ages. I also came to understand that there were several challenges which needed immediate attention. Over the last several months, we have engaged the community to define a strategic plan covering the next five years with focus on our students’ growth and engagement, staff retention and development, and the need to confirm our facilities are safe and provide the proper access to infrastructure to help our students and staff achieve their goals. Our vision for the future includes offering more rigorous and relevant coursework that prepares all of our students for their future. This could come in the form of Advanced Placement courses, college credit opportunities both on and off campus, and targeted offerings that prepare students for immediate entry into the workforce after high school.

In parallel, we have studied our financial condition and have identified where our NEEDs, not WANTS, are to support our students and staff. We must invest in our students so their skills upon graduation are relevant for today's postsecondary, technical, and workforce environment that our students are entering when they graduate. If our April referendum is successful, we will be heavily investing in our Career, Trades & Technical Education program as well as in curriculum for advanced and college level coursework. Again, all of this investment is a need and not a want.

We also must replace the revenue lost when the last operating referendum expired in 2021, address the need for competitive compensation for our staff or risk losing quality educators, address the shortfall in state revenue for our special needs students, and sparingly replace buses that are aging and coming to the end of their useful life. This will also help to address the impacts of inflation that we all have become well aware of, amongst other needs. A detailed list and other information is available at www.PlumCity.k12.wi.us/referendum.

I would like to cordially invite you to attend the Career, Tech, and Arts Showcase on March 30 at 7 p.m. at the PCHS/MS. This event will celebrate the accomplishments of our students related to career and technical education and the arts. I would also like to extend an invitation to the Community Forum on March 31st at 7pm in the PCHS/MS Gym.

If any community member has any questions please reach out to me. My direct number is 715-317-7002 and my email is: bna[email protected] and I look forward to connecting with you.

Brian Nadeau

Superintendent Plum City Schools

My years on County Board

To the editor,

As of April 5, 2022, I will have ended 10 years as a Pierce County Board Supervisor. It has been a rewarding privilege to have served in this capacity.

Throughout my ten years on this board, I have felt that every decision made in the committees I’ve served on and the County Board itself has been made with informed and objective understanding of the issues, open input of all concerned, the well-being of Pierce County Citizens always in mind, and attention to fiscal responsibility to taxpayers. I also know that as a board member, my ability to fulfill all those commitments improved with every term I served. Another supervisor said recently: “I’ve served on this board for almost two decades, and the board we have now is the best I’ve served with.”

I don’t have as much experience to draw from, but I do know that I have great respect for supervisors who have presided conscientiously and judiciously in leadership positions and the colleagues I’m currently serving with.

Grass roots government is the purest kind of government we have in a democracy— where the elected know and serve the public directly. Be sure to support this enterprise by going to the polls on April 5.

Ruth Wood

River Falls

Response to Bergh letter

To the editor, In response to Mr. Prescott Bergh’s emotional letter in the March 22 edition of The Journal that the Republican Party of Pierce County’s advertisement of the previous week lacked facts, we are neither uninformed nor ignorant. Our ad was a summation of how the Pierce County Board of Supervisors had been conducting business.

Continuing to make meetings only available virtually through Zoom when other elected boards returned to inperson attendance was unnecessary and off-putting. It implied that the board considered live attendance unimportant. Virtual meetings discourage public participation. A previous Journal article described Zoom-related speaker interruptions, speakers cut off, speakers not allowed to speak, etc. Such complaints should have made the board aware that changes needed to be made. They are elected not only to represent us, but to listen to us.

In addition, Zoom board meetings have not been recorded while River Falls City Council meetings have long been recorded and archived online. Not doing so prevents the non-attending public from reviewing county business and implies that Supervisors don’t consider transparency important.

Yes, general meetings are held in the evenings. But, as Mr. Bergh neglected to point out, the sausage is made in committee meetings. That's where Sheriff's department funding, taxpayer funding for highspeed internet, and the health department’s role are discussed. Committee meetings held on weekday afternoons are where decisions are often made and then brought to general meetings.

As for packets being readily available for all general meetings, this isn’t so. An example is packets for the meeting at which hiring a 'Covid Investigator' was to be discussed, it was necessary to call for information about the specific job description. Requesters then sent ONLY the agenda portion that highlighted the job description. Why?

Mr. Bergh misrepresented the purpose of the RPPC advertisement— to call attention to transparency issues that needed revision. Our attention began when Supervisors ignored widespread resident concerns over giving unilateral authority to an unelected official. That action took away public recourse if such officials abuse resident liberties and freedoms. Lack of board transparency then became apparent in more than one way.

It is time for the County Board to be open and available to the public, all meetings to be held at times that are convenient for the public to attend, recordings of all meetings available online for the public to review, 'draft minutes' from the previous meeting posted immediately, then changed to 'approved minutes' after being approved by the board at the next meeting, packets of meeting content available at the same time as the agendas.

Stephanie Brown

Chair Republican Party of Pierce County River Falls

Columns by Nigbor and Wood

To the editor,

I always read the weekly columns by Sarah Nigbor and Dave Wood. They are delightful, interesting and well written. I would keep my subscription to The Journal if only to read their columns. My attention is jarred, however, by occasional glitches in grammar.

I was the dreaded (good word, Dave) grammar policeman at home. When I corrected an error in speech, my children would respond, “But, Dad, you know what I mean.” “Yes,” I would say, “but don’t you want people to think you are smart when you speak? Don’t you want people to focus on what you are saying rather than on how you are saying it?” I don’t know if my lecture was heard, but my children, all in their fifties, are doing okay.

Anyway, I love you guys (yes, girls are now guys), and I wish I could meet you both after work having libations somewhere. It would be my pleasure.

Donn Leaf

Bay City

SDRF Community Survey

To the editor,

The School District of River Falls is built upon a long tradition of community support. We need your help.

As we develop a strategic plan for the next five years, it's imperative that our community members are given a voice to express their thoughts and opinions regarding school district priorities. In addition to the community Listening Sessions we held in early March, we have created a survey as a way for you, our community, to share your ideas.

The survey is found on our website, and can be accessed at rfsd.k12.wi.us. Click on the Community Survey link. There's also a QR code and link listed on the front page of the district newsletter that all community members should have received in the mail over the past few days. This survey is open until April 8 at noon.

We are very blessed and appreciative of the long tradition of support the River Falls community has shown for our schools. I would like to personally invite ALL community members to take a few minutes of your time to continue this tradition. Your survey participation provides us with valuable feedback as we develop a strategic plan for our schools. Thank you for taking the time to help guide the future of the School District of River Falls.

If you would like a paper copy of the survey, please contact Amanda Taylor at 715-425-1800 x1104.

Supt. Jamie Benson

River Falls School District