This week our local school district, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Independent School District 22 voted on a school building referendum that was multipurpose. Our school district at the moment is severely overcrowded. The school board sought advice from a demographer that predicted the enrollment numbers will continue to rise every year as the population has showed continued sign of growth. The school board unveiled a plan that would total $59 million dollars, which was comparable to $11 a month for a $100,000 home.
The plan included a new 1,000 seat K-3 elementary school with land the school had already payed a deposit on as the community is in short supply of land inside district limits. A remodeled high school to increase productive work space, classroom space, gymnasium space, room re-allocation, expansion of the commons area and remodel of main office to provide secure locked entrance. The middle school would get a big makeover in order to update use of space, maintenance issues, safety issues, update the heating system with a more energy efficient version, improve lighting, and add a secured locked entrance by moving the front office. lastly, the other elementary school, Roosevelt would be converted to fourth and fifth grade only, receive many updates and repairs, improve and upgrade the outdoor space, and add air conditioning to the entire school.
The plan was big, but reasonable. Voters came out Tuesday night in huge numbers creating waiting lines like I have never seen. Zane and I waited in line for over 20 minutes to vote..I voted yes. It was important to me for my four children to have the best, safest environment to learn in. I thought for sure this vote was a no brainer! Currently there is only one school within our district that has secure entrances, a school I have no children in. I applaud their initiative to tackle the project and secure the school, I want the rest of the schools within the district to also have locked, secured entrances. In my opinion, the entire project was worth it just for that reason alone.
Tuesday night I watched the various websites closely in order to hear of the tally count before heading to bed and was shocked by the end result, 1,883 no votes; 1,334 yes votes. The referendum was shot down. While this was only round one, and there will be more rounds to follow, there has been a huge compromise in what little security there is in place. Through the months leading up to the vote the Laker Vote Yes committee and school Superintendent Doug Froke held several information meetings along with a very aggressive informative marketing campaign via Facebook, online website, flyers in the mailbox and handouts sent home from school. The marketing team did an amazing job. However, every single piece of information gave clear, precise information regarding the security issues within each school. We are now, essentially a school district that has told the entire area just how unsecured our schools are. If you lived anywhere within our district, you now know of the issues and had you attended any of the meetings you had a visual.
Now my four kids will go to school each morning and I stay home worrying myself sick of what could potentially happen. How could the community of Detroit Lakes do this? Is the security of the areas children mean so little to the town? Is it not worth a small $11 a month to protect our children? Never mind the overcrowding, maintenance and upgrade issues, how is the security not the priority these days? I pay more than that each month just to place apps on my children’s phones to have the ability to track their location in a worst case scenario and we can’t come together as a community to protect our children, our teaching staff and the future of our community?
It breaks my heart and is a deep disappointment that children and the future of our community mean so little to the residents. Are we not trying to grow the community, attract new businesses, families and grow the population? This vote surely shows where voters priorities lie. Was is money that voters had an issue with? Some said they didn’t believe there were crowding issues, some said it was too much, others were upset with the proposed location of the new school.
For me, security should have been the top priority, and yet there were members of the community that felt we live in a small town, we all know each other, and famous last words, “it would never happen here” A statement that sends shivers down my spine and makes my skin crawl. The list below shows every school shooting from the early 1900’s to the latest school shooting on November 2nd, 2013. Most of these towns, and residents, probably said the same thing at some point.
This list is SHOCKING to say the least, it is overwhelming, and the list alone, should be a motivation for ALL schools to take security seriously and demand new locked, secured entrances to all schools! Lets protect our future and the staff within the schools your children and grandchildren spend so much time in each and every week. It’s time to start a movement. The only way we can expect change and updates is awareness, conversation and community support and it starts with you!
| Date | Location | School | Deaths | Injured |
| 5/12/1900 | Danbury, Connecticut | – | 1 | – |
| 9/3/1900 | Boise, Idaho | – | – | |
| 2/26/1902 | Camargo, Illinois | 2 | ||
| 2/24/1903 | Inman, South Carolina | Inman High School | 1 | |
| 7/21/1903 | Jackson, Kentucky | Cave Run School | 2 | 1 |
| 9/23/1903 | Bakersfield, California | 1 | ||
| 4/6/1904 | Chicago, Illinois | 1 | ||
| 9/27/1904 | Mount Ayr, Iowa | 1 | ||
| 11/16/1904 | Riverside, California | Indian School | 1 | 2 |
| 12/16/1904 | Magee, Mississippi | 1 | 1 | |
| 2/9/1905 | Colusa, California | 1 | ||
| 7/31/1905 | Tempe, Arizona | Tempe Public School | 1 | |
| 5/18/1906 | Boston, Massachusetts | Cambridge Comercial College | 1 | 1 |
| 8/8/1906 | Covelo, California | Harrington School House | 1 | |
| 10/10/1906 | Cleveland, Ohio | South Euclid School | 2 | |
| 3/23/1907 | Carmi, Illinois | 1 | ||
| 12/20/1907 | Chico, California | Dayton School District | 1 | |
| 3/11/1908 | Boston, Massachusetts | Laurens School | 2 | |
| 3/20/1908 | Los Angeles, California | San Pedro Street School | 1 | |
| 4/15/1908 | Asheville, North Carolina | Normal and Collegiate Institute | 2 | |
| 12/23/1908 | New York City | New York University | 1 | |
| 2/12/1909 | San Francisco, California | 2 | ||
| 3/19/1909 | Mount Vernon, Illinois | 1 | ||
| 6/10/1909 | Trinidad, Colorado | 1 | ||
| 8/18/1909 | Bakersfield, California | Fruitvale School | 0 | 0 |
| 9/11/1909 | Gravette, Arkansas | Bear Hollow School | 1 | |
| 12/7/1909 | Nevada City, California | 1 | ||
| 1/12/1910 | New York City | Harlem Scool Boys | 1 | 1 |
| 3/10/1910 | Ione, California | Preston School of Industry | 1 | |
| 8/16/1910 | Lexington, Kentucky | 1 | Several | |
| 4/27/1911 | Manhattan, Kansas | 1 | ||
| 1/10/1912 | Warrenville, Illinois | 2 | ||
| 1/31/1912 | San Francisco, California | Oriental School | 1 | |
| 1/17/1913 | Honolulu, Hawaii | 2 | 7 | |
| 3/27/1919 | Lodi Township, Michigan | Rentschler School | 1 | |
| 8/8/1919 | San Francisco, California | University of California | 2 | 1 |
| 5/15/1920 | Bowling Green, Ohio | 1 | ||
| 4/2/1921 | Syracuse, New York | Syracuse University | 2 | |
| 2/15/1927 | Hempstead, New York | Hempstead High School | 1 | |
| 5/18/1927 | Bath, Michigan | Bath Consolidated School | 51 | |
| 5/22/1930 | Ringe, Minnesota | 1 | ||
| 5/28/1931 | Duluth, Minnesota | Howard Gensen Rural School | 1 | |
| 2/15/1933 | Downey, California | Gallatin Grammar School | 3 | |
| 2/2/1934 | Harlan, Iowa | Monroe School No 2 | 2 | |
| 9/14/1934 | Gill, Massachusetts | Northfield Mount Hermon School | 1 | |
| 3/27/1935 | Medora, North Dakota | Manlon School | 1 | |
| 5/7/1935 | Irvington, New York | Kyle School for Boys | 1 | |
| 12/12/1935 | New York City | School of Dental & Oral Surgery | 3 | 1 |
| 4/27/1936 | Lincoln, Nebraska | University of Nebraska | 1 | 1 |
| 6/4/1936 | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | Lehigh University | 2 | |
| 6/4/1937 | Isabel, Kansas | 1 | ||
| 9/24/1937 | Toledo, Ohio | Arlington Public School | 2 | |
| 5/6/1940 | South Pasadena, California | South Pasadena Junior High School | 5 | 2 |
| 5/23/1940 | New York City | Dwight School for Girls | 1 | |
| 7/4/1940 | Valhalla, New York | 1 | ||
| 9/12/1940 | Uniontown, Pennsylvania | 1 | ||
| 10/2/1942 | New York City | William J. Gaynor Junior High School | 1 | |
| 2/23/1943 | Port Chester, New York | Harvey School | 1 | |
| 6/26/1946 | Brooklyn, New York | 1 | ||
| 11/24/1946 | New York City | St. Benedict’s Parachial School | 1 | |
| 2/5/1947 | Madill, Oklahoma | 2 | ||
| 12/1/1947 | Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania | 1 | ||
| 12/24/1948 | New York City | 1 | ||
| 3/11/1949 | New York City | Stuyvesant High School | 1 | |
| 11/13/1949 | Columbus, Ohio | Ohio State University | 1 | |
| 4/25/1950 | Peru, Nebraska | Peru State College | 3 | |
| 7/22/1950 | New York City | Public School 141 | 1 | |
| 1/24/1951 | Alton, Illinois | Western Military Academy | 1 | |
| 3/12/1951 | Union Mills, North Carolina | Alexander School | 3 | |
| 6/4/1951 | New York City | Manhattan Central Commercial igh School | 1 | |
| 11/4/1951 | New York City | 1 | ||
| 4/9/1952 | New York City | 1 | ||
| 7/14/1952 | New York City | Columbia University | 1 | |
| 9/3/1952 | Lawrenceville, Illinois | Lawrenceville High School | 1 | |
| 11/20/1952 | New York City | Naval Postgraduate School | 1 | |
| 10/2/1953 | Chicago, Illinois | Kelly High School | 1 | |
| 10/8/1953 | New York City | Machine & Metal Trades High School | 1 | |
| 3/31/1954 | Newton, Massachusetts | Day Junior High School | 1 | |
| 5/15/1954 | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | University of North Carolina | 1 | 2 |
| 1/11/1955 | Swarthmore, Pennsylvania | Swarthmore College | 1 | |
| 5/4/1956 | Prince George’s County, Maryland | Maryland Park Junior High | 1 | 2 |
| 10/20/1956 | New York City | Booker T. Washington Junior High School | 1 | |
| 10/2/1957 | New York City | 1 | ||
| 3/4/1958 | New York City | Manual Training School | 1 | |
| 5/1/1958 | Massapequa, New York | Massapequa High School | 1 | |
| 9/24/1959 | New York City | Morris High School | 1 | |
| 2/2/1960 | Hartford City, Indiana | William Reed Elementary School | 3 | |
| 3/30/1960 | Alice, Texas | Dubose Junior High School | 1 | |
| 6/7/1960 | Blaine, Minnesota | 1 | ||
| 1/4/1961 | Delmont, South Dakota | Delmont High School | 1 | |
| 10/17/1961 | Denver, Colorado | Morey Hig School | 1 | 1 |
| 8/1/1966 | Austin, Texas | University of Texas-Austin | 17 | 31 |
| 10/5/1966 | Grand Rapids, Minnesota | Grand Rapids High School | 1 | 1 |
| 11/12/1966 | Mesa, Arizona | Rose Mar College of Beauty | 5 | 2 |
| 1/24/1968 | High Point, North Carolina | Central High School | 1 | |
| 1/30/1968 | Miami, Florida | Miami Jackson High School | 1 | |
| 2/8/1968 | Orangeburg, South Carolina | South Carolina State University | 3 | 27 |
| 5/22/1968 | Miami, Florida | Drew Junior High School | 2 | |
| 1/17/1969 | Los Angeles, California | University of California | 2 | |
| 1/23/1969 | Washington, DC | Cardozo Senior High School | 1 | |
| 5/13/1969 | Winston-Salem, North Caolina | Hanes Junior High School | 1 | |
| 11/19/1969 | Tomah, Wisconsin | 1 | ||
| 1/5/1970 | Washington, DC | Hine Junior High School | 1 | |
| 2/2/1971 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Morris E. Leeds School | 1 | |
| 11/8/1971 | Grove, Oklahoma | 1 | ||
| 11/11/1971 | Spokane, Washington | Gonzaga University | 2 | 4 |
| 1/5/1972 | Washington, DC | 1 | ||
| 2/26/1973 | Richmond, Virginia | Armstrong High School | 1 | |
| 10/1/1973 | Elmwood Park, Illinois | Elmwood Park Community High School | 2 | |
| 1/17/1974 | Chicago, Illinois | 1 | ||
| 3/22/1974 | Brownstown, Indiana | Brownstown Central High School | 1 | |
| 12/30/1974 | Olean, New York | 3 | 11 | |
| 2/18/1975 | Poughkeepsie, New York | Marist College | 1 | |
| 9/11/1975 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | U.S. Grant High School | 1 | several |
| 2/12/1976 | Detroit, Michigan | Murray-Wright High School | 5 | |
| 6/12/1976 | Fullerton, California | California State University | 7 | 2 |
| 11/10/1976 | Detroit, Michigan | Burt Elementary School | 1 | |
| 4/7/1977 | Whitharral, Texas | 1 | ||
| 2/9/1978 | St. Albans, West Virginia | Hayes Junior High School | 1 | |
| 2/22/1978 | Lansing, Michigan | Everett High School | 1 | 1 |
| 4/26/1978 | Dallas, Texas | Paul Dunbar Elementary School | 1 | |
| 5/18/1978 | Austin, Texas | 1 | ||
| 1/29/1979 | San Diego, California | Grover Cleveland Elementary School | 2 | 9 |
| 3/20/1980 | Dallas, Texas | J. Leslie Patton School | 1 | |
| 3/26/1980 | Big Rapids, Michigan | Ferris State College | 1 | |
| 3/19/1982 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Valley Hig School | 1 | 2 |
| 4/7/1982 | Littleton, Colorado | Deer Creek Jr. High School | 1 | |
| 11/12/1982 | Jackson, Mississippi | Wingfield High School | 2 | |
| 1/20/1983 | St. Louis County, Missouri | Parkway Middle School | 2 | 1 |
| 4/20/1984 | Detroit, Michigan | Precious Blood School | 1 | |
| 5/17/1984 | Altoona, Iowa | Southeast Polk High School | 2 | |
| 1/22/1985 | Goddard, Kansas | Goddard Junior High School | 1 | 3 |
| 9/4/1985 | Richmond, Virginia | East End Middle School | 1 | |
| 10/18/1985 | Detroit, Michigan | 6 | ||
| 11/26/1985 | Spanaway, Washington | Spanaway Junior High School | 3 | |
| 12/10/1985 | Portland, Connecticut | Portland Junior High School | 1 | 1 |
| 2/24/1986 | Sidell, Louisiana | Boyet Junior High Scool | 1 | |
| 5/16/1986 | Cokeville Elementary School | 2 | 78 | |
| 12/5/1986 | Lewistown, Montana | Fergus High School | 1 | 3 |
| 3/2/1987 | De Kalb, Missouri | 2 | ||
| 4/16/1987 | Detroit, Michigan | Murray-Wright High School | 1 | 2 |
| 12/16/1987 | Katy, Texas | Mayde Creek High School | 1 | |
| 2/11/1988 | Largo, Florida | Pinellas Park High School | 1 | 2 |
| 5/20/1988 | Winnetka, Illinois | 2 | 6 | |
| 9/26/1988 | Greenwood, South Carolina | Oakland Elementary School | 2 | 8 |
| 12/16/1988 | Virginia Beach, Virginia | Atlantic Shores Christian School | 1 | 1 |
| 1/17/1989 | Stockton, California | 6 | 29 | |
| 1/8/1991 | Richardson, texas | 1 | ||
| 4/23/1991 | Compton, California | Ralph J. Bunche Middle School | 1 | |
| 11/1/1991 | Iowa City, Iowa | 6 | 1 | |
| 2/6/1992 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Douglass High School | 1 | |
| 5/1/1992 | Olivehurst, California | Lindhurst High School | 4 | 10 |
| 12/14/1992 | Great Barrington, Massachusetts | Simon’s Rock College | 2 | 4 |
| 1/18/1993 | Grayson, Kentucky | East Carter High School | 2 | |
| 12/17/1993 | Chelsea, Michigan | Chelsea High School | 1 | 2 |
| 3/1/1994 | Boonville, Missouri | Kemper Militar School | 2 | |
| 11/7/1994 | Wickliffe, Ohio | Wickliffe Middle School | 1 | 4 |
| 1/12/1995 | Seattle, Washington | Garfield High School | 2 | |
| 10/12/1995 | Blackville, South Carolina | Blackville-Hilda High School | 2 | 1 |
| 11/15/1995 | Lynville, Tennessee | Richland High School | 2 | 1 |
| 2/2/1996 | Moses Lakes, Washington | Frontier Middle School | 3 | 1 |
| 2/8/1996 | Menlo Park, California | Mid Peninsula High School | 1 | 1 |
| 8/15/1996 | San Diego, California | San Diego State University | 3 | |
| 8/26/1996 | San Antonio, Texas | University of Texas San Antonio | 2 | |
| 9/17/1996 | State College, Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania State University | 1 | 2 |
| 2/19/1997 | Bethel, Alaska | Bethel Regional High School | 2 | 2 |
| 10/1/1997 | Pearl, Mississippi | Pearl High School | 3 | 7 |
| 11/27/1997 | West Palm Beach, Florida | Conniston Middle School | 1 | |
| 12/1/1997 | West Paducah, Kentucky | Heath High School | 3 | 5 |
| 12/15/1997 | Stamps, Arkansas | Stamps High School | 2 | |
| 3/24/1998 | Craighead County, Arkansas | Westside Middle School | 5 | 10 |
| 4/24/1998 | Edinboro, Pennsylvania | Parker Middle School | 1 | 3 |
| 5/19/1998 | Fayetteville, Tennessee | 1 | ||
| 5/21/1998 | Springfield, Oregon | Thurston High School | 2 | 25 |
| 6/15/1998 | Richmond, Virginia | Armstrong High School | 2 | |
| 12/10/1998 | Detroit, Michigan | 1 | ||
| 4/20/1999 | Notus, Idaho | Notus Jr. Sr, High School | 1 | |
| 4/20/1999 | Columbine, Colorado | Columbine High School | 15 | 21 |
| 5/20/1999 | Conyers, Georgia | Heritage High School | 6 | |
| 6/8/1999 | Lynwood, California | Lynwood High School | 2 | |
| 11/19/1999 | Deming, New Mexico | Deming Middle School | 1 | |
| 12/6/1999 | Fort Gibson, Oklahoma | 6 | ||
| 2/29/2000 | Flint, Michigan | Buell Elementary School | 1 | |
| 5/26/2000 | Lake Worth, Florida | Lake Worth Middle School | 1 | |
| 8/28/2000 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | University of Arkansas | 2 | |
| 9/26/2000 | Lousiana | 1 | ||
| 3/5/2001 | Santee, California | Sanatana High School | 2 | 13 |
| 3/7/2001 | Williamsport, Pennsylvania | Bishop Neumann High School | 1 | |
| 3/21/2001 | El Cajon, California | Granite Hills High School | 5 | |
| 3/30/2001 | Indiana | 1 | ||
| 1/15/2002 | New York City | Martin Luther King Jr. High School | 2 | |
| 4/24/2003 | Red Lion, Pennsylvania | Red Lion Area Junior High School | 2 | |
| 9/24/2003 | Cold Spring, Minnesota | Rocori High School | 2 | |
| 2/2/2004 | Washington, DC | 1 | ||
| 2/9/2004 | East Greenbush, New York | 1 | ||
| 5/7/2004 | Maryland | 1 | ||
| 3/21/2005 | Red Lake, Minneosta | Red Lake Senior High School | 9 | 5 |
| 9/13/2005 | Chicago, Illinois | Harlan Community Academy High School | 1 | |
| 11/8/2005 | La Follette, Tennessee | Cambell County High School | 1 | 2 |
| 2/23/2006 | Roseburg, Oregon | Roseburg High School | 1 | |
| 3/14/2006 | Reno, Nevada | Pine Middle School | 2 | |
| 8/24/2006 | Essex, Vermont | Essex Elementary Schoo | 1 | |
| 9/27/2006 | Bailey, Colorado | Platte Canyon High School | 2 | |
| 9/29/2006 | Cazenovia, Wisconsin | Weston High School | 1 | |
| 10/2/2006 | Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania | Amish School | 6 | 3 |
| 1/3/2007 | Tacoma, Washington | Henry Foss High School | 1 | |
| 2/8/2007 | Prineville, Oregon | Crook County High School | 1 | |
| 4/16/2007 | Blacksburg, Virginia | Virginia Tech | 33 | 25 |
| 10/10/2007 | Cleveland, Ohio | Success Tech Academy | 1 | 4 |
| 2/4/2008 | Memphis, Tennessee | Hamilton High School | 1 | |
| 2/11/2008 | Memphis, Tennessee | 1 | ||
| 2/12/2008 | Oxnard, California | Green Junior igh School | 1 | |
| 2/14/2008 | DeKalb, Illinois | Northern Illinois University | 6 | 21 |
| 8/14/2008 | Federal Way, Washington | Lakota Middle School | 1 | |
| 10/16/2008 | Detroit, Michigan | Henry Ford High School | 1 | 3 |
| 11/13/2008 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Dillard High School | 1 | |
| 1/9/2009 | Chicago, Illinois | Dunbar High School | 5 | |
| 4/26/2009 | Hampton, Virginia | Hampton University | 3 | |
| 5/18/2009 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | Harvard University | 1 | |
| 5/18/2009 | Lacrose, Lousiana | Lacrose-Cut Off Middle School | 1 | |
| 6/16/2009 | San Francisco, California | International Studies Academy | 3 | |
| 9/3/2009 | San Bruno, California | Skyline College | 1 | |
| 2/5/2010 | Madison, Alabama | Discovery Middle School | 1 | |
| 2/12/2010 | Huntsville, Alabama | University of Alabama Huntsville | 3 | 3 |
| 2/23/2010 | Littleton, Colorado | Deer Creek Jr. High School | 2 | |
| 9/8/2010 | Detroit, Michigan | Mumford High School | 2 | |
| 9/28/2010 | Austin, Texas | University of Texas Austin | 1 | |
| 10/8/2010 | Carlsbad, California | Kelly Elementary School | 2 | |
| 10/1/2010 | Salinas, California | Alisal High School | 1 | |
| 10/24/2010 | Topeka, Kansas | Topeka West High School | 1 | 1 |
| 11/29/2010 | Marinette, Wisconsin | Marinette High School | 1 | |
| 12/6/2010 | Aurora, Colorado | Aurora Central High School | 1 | |
| 1/5/2011 | Omaha, Nebraska | Millard High School | 1 | |
| 2/2/2011 | Placerville, California | Schnell Elementary School | 1 | |
| 3/25/2011 | Martinsville, Indiana | Martinsville West Middle School | 1 | |
| 3/31/2011 | Houston, Texas | Worthington High School | 1 | 5 |
| 5/10/2011 | San Jose, California | San Jose State University | 3 | |
| 5/23/2011 | Pearl City, Hawaii | Highlands Intermediatte School | 1 | |
| 10/24/2011 | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Cape Fear High School | 1 | |
| 12/8/2011 | Blacksburg, Virginia | Radford University | 2 | |
| 1/10/2012 | Houston, Texas | North Forest High School | 1 | |
| 2/27/2012 | Chardon, Ohio | Chardon High School | 3 | 3 |
| 3/6/2012 | Jacksonville, Florida | Episcopal School of Jacksonville | 2 | |
| 4/7/2012 | Oakland, California | Oikos University | 7 | 3 |
| 8/16/2012 | Memphis, Tennessee | Hamilton High School | 2 | |
| 8/24/2012 | Homer, Georgia | Banks County High School | 1 | |
| 8/27/2012 | Perry Hall, Maryland | Perry Hall High School | 1 | |
| 9/7/2012 | Normal, Illinos | Normal County High School | 0 | 0 |
| 9/26/2012 | Stillwater, Oklahoma | Stillwater Junior High | 1 | |
| 10/12/2012 | Fairmount, North Dakota | Fairmount Public School | 1 | |
| 10/31/2012 | Los Angeles, California | University of Southern California | 4 | |
| 12/14/2012 | Newtown, Connecticut | Sandy Hook Elementary | 28 | 2 |
| 1/10/2013 | Taft, California | Taft Union High School | 2 | |
| 1/12/2013 | Detroit, Michigan | Osborn High School | 1 | |
| 1/15/2013 | St. Louis, Missouri | Stevens Institute of Business and Arts | 2 | |
| 1/15/2013 | Hazard, Kentucky | Hazard Community and Technical College | 3 | |
| 1/16/2013 | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago State University | 1 | |
| 1/22/2013 | Houston, Texas | Lone Star College- North Harris | 3 | |
| 1/29/2013 | Midland City, Alabama | School Bus | 1 | |
| 1/31/2013 | Atlanta, Georgia | Price Middle School | 2 | |
| 3/18/2013 | Orlando, Florida | University of Central Florida | 1 | |
| 4/19/2013 | Cambridge, Massachusetts | MIT | 2 | 1 |
| 4/29/2013 | Cincinnati, Ohio | La Salle High School | 1 | |
| 6/7/2013 | Santa Monica, California | Santa Monica College | 6 | 4 |
| 8/20/2013 | Decatur, Georgia | Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy | 0 | 0 |
| 8/30/2013 | Winston-Salem, North Caolina | Carver High School | 1 | |
| 10/4/2013 | Pine Hills, Florida | Agape Christian Academy | 2 | |
| 10/15/2013 | Austin, Texas | Lanier High School | 1 | |
| 10/21/2013 | Sparks, Nevada | Sparks Middle School | 2 | 2 |
| 11/2/2013 | Greensboro, North Carolina | North Carolina A&T State University | 1 |
About Miranda Sherman
Jake I agree with several of your points. In NO way am I ever going to agree with Eminent Domain..that entire concept is insane and I would be irate if this city started doing something like that, and I would hope that the majority of our town would agree.
I was shocked at the arrangement during voting Tuesday night. That was incredibly mismanaged! I’m not sure which of the two polling venues you were at but the high school was an absolute mess! I had my five year old son in tow that day and passed by twice choosing to vote at later times as there was no way I was going to stand outside in the freezing cold with that wind with my five year old. The third time we drove by there was no line, outside. We walked through the doors and began our 20+ minute wait and our line J-Z was the shortest wait. With the way the high school is laid out it would have been better to have a flowing line by having the registration line on both the right and left hand side with the polling booth at the ends and the machine to the right then voters would walk up those steps and head out the front doors. That would have been the best way to keep traffic moving more efficiently.
I moved here around the same time you did but I came from East Grand Forks where class size seemed decent. Now as a Mom who has been inside these schools and the classrooms are pretty tight. Yes we could squeeze more kids in but its the other areas that suffer. For instance, the counselors office in Rossman, is very small and tight, the speech room is literally a closet, the staff break room has been converted into a special ed room, LD classroom is in a closet. Rossman is really having an issue with space.
I think if the school really wanted to focus on overcrowding they should have run a series of tours of the schools for those that have no kids in school and have not seen first hand the overcrowding issue, lack of security, maintenance issues and efficiency issues. Maybe then people would have more if an idea of what the problems are. I agree tat this campaign seemed to have been a little last minute and they could have been more proactive to get the community involved.
It is so sad what is happening to our schools and communities lack of interest. Great post!
people need to wake up already
Sorry about the disappointing vote. Those stats are scary.
Oh my goodness the list is horrendous and completely shocking, no wonder you are so worried. With everything you see on the news nowadays I agree with you whats $11 a month, people will only waste that amount on something they will probably not need. Keep up the fight !!
Looking at the list we can see it has been going on for 100+ years. Tragic and frustrating, but in all honesty, I’m not sure how much school security would help. I often feel if someone is going to go bat sh*t crazy they will find a way regardless of the security plans in place.
I’d be more concerned about overcrowding and the level of education my child is receiving. Getting the public to pass requests for more funding is always challenging. I’ve watched my own community turn down funding request time and time again.
Good luck. I hope your community figures it out soon.
It makes me sad when communities don’t support education improvements.
For some reason public education in this country has lost its priority. We, the parents, must fight to change that. I am very active in those discussions here in NY where II am watching the rich people try to privatize the system which makes it a for profit system which will then really screw the kids. Stop giving the oil companies subsidies and give it to the children!
Mitch
Very sad. One of the reasons we are relocating next year is to be in a place with better and safer schools!
Oh I agree! The overcrowding in the district is insane! I will be writing another post that will address the severe overcrowding later this week. People in the community think this is a joke and that the kids are spoiled. One gentleman told my five year old that if it passes he will be paying for their lollipops..are you kidding me?!
WOW very sad! people really need to wake up for real, those stats are scary indeed. I so agree with Mitch his statement is so true. What about our children, wow wake up people. I hope your community gets it together.
That list is really terrifying! I would have voted yes. Our schools in the country need more than just security…but securing them is certainly important!
I think the whole school safety argument by the district was just thrown on as an afterthought —after the district already decided to go for the school vote…If the district is so concerned about security then why to this day has the DL district not shared there active shooter plans with the Becker Co. Sheriffs Office…granted they have with the DLPD but when Sheriff Shannon was sworn in last January (less then a month after Sandy Hook) —he left multiple messages for Super Int. Froke and never heard back…I have talked with Sheriff Shannon about it personally.
Covering the school board over the last several years safety was never talked about until it came time to vote…it was always over crowding…the issue but it could be a temporary one which in 10 years wont be an issue any more or it could get worse…no one really knows…the county data doesn’t support the districts number provided by Ehlers and Associates.
I also want to know what are they doing today. —One locked door up front? How is this any better or worse…the truth is you can’t stop killer who wants to kill…if they target out kids we can only minimize the damage…
Any one who wanted until Sandy hook ignored the lesions of Columbine…
I want our kids to be safe but if it was as important as they say why not use some of that $400,000 a year in capital improvements on it?
That’s my take on the “Security angle” of the referendum…none the less I supported it because it’s just going to get more expensive.
Jake Judd
Host of 1340 KDLM Lakes Live in Detroit Lakes
Jake I agree if there is someone that wants to hurt the kids they will, however, is not our responsibility as a society to take every precaution ahead of time to place as many deterrents and road blocks as possible, if not entirely at least slow them down? I agree that the security changes should be made regardless of this referendum by using other funds, this is a priority not something that should be left to a vote.
I am shocked to hear of this issue with the Sheriff department and Doug Froeke! How has this gone unaddressed in the public? The entire area just did a mock emergency drill at the courthouse, how have they not utilized the various school buildings and arranged a similar situation? The emergency responders should be prepared the best of their ability God forbid something like this should happen. Drills should be done in ALL schools and should be with ALL departments. Hell, we do it every year for We-Fest but they can’t come together and do it for the schools? It is presumptuous to believe that every single first responder knows every nook and cranny of every school building in the community, something they ought to know in case of emergency! This alone infuriates me!
As for the overcrowding, it is an issue and I assume will only get worse, eventually. I have witnessed this area myself, personally. Yes, we could add more students to every classroom, but larger class sizes are proven to lower the effectiveness of the learning and teaching process. Eight years ago when my daughter started school in this district class sizes were between 17-19 kids, now they are upwards of 20 – 24 students per room. There is little to no space for special services and special needs.
What were your thoughts on the location of the proposed new school?
So wrong
It’s sad when the community doesn’t support the local education. It’s even worse when half the people in the surrounding areas send their kids to places! I just don’t get it
I hear ya Miranda…there is no easy answer…but we need to think clear with our minds and not our hearts…if all had done that I think it would have passed but we will have another stab at it soon..trust me
I would have voted yes!! I can’t believe that for 11 dollars a day people didn’t think it was worth keeping the kids safe
As for location I was fine with it…sure it would be great to have it in town some where but years of environmental laws and protection have made that almost impossible. I think the location was as close to town as it could be and still meet all the requirements (like minimum 40 acres for a 1000 student Elementary building)…I know some have said kids wont be able to walk to school —I’m friends with a few teachers through the Jaycees in town and have friends from school who are teachers in other parts of the state…kids don’t walk to school anymore…they get a ride — parents are to concerned there kids will be abducted (sexually assaulted) or hurt by the weather if they walk…so they are not walking now…as far a 1.5 miles out of town? I have never heard some one saw why did they build Wal-Mart way out there by the airport almost a mile away? I will never drive that far? That’s what I think about the location if you hate it— blame the politicians they have left school no choice…Rossman and the DLHS would never—-ever—-be built today because the water table is too high by the lake… (Dang near everyone who lives within three blocks of the north end of the lake are living in a drained swamp those schools included)—
Where would it have been better? I would never support emanate domain (at Rossman taking 15 homes or taking land from the Oak Grove Cemetery and please don’t say the fairgrounds that was never an option for about 3 good reasons number one being the family who gave the land only did so for the fair and any changes they get the land back so you can’t put a school there)
To me this an issue with cost and over crowding and to put anything else into it is really outside the scope as too why the conversation started in the 1st place…now the over crowding has been creeping ever since I moved here 8 years ago…that being said our school do a great job—not a good one but a great one with our kids…I’m from Anoka which as some may know is the biggest district in the state at around 65,000 kids today…my class was 930 something kids (in 2001) and my high school was one of 5 within 10 miles with 3 to 4,000 kids…we never had less then 30 in any class…it can be done…and if our school is suffering from over crowding how come our kids test scores are improving? — now I’m the son of two teachers as well and both my parents would say 30 in class is too many…and you end up being in crowd control more then teaching especially in middle school…I really think this failed because the district went go big or go home…and now there home…had this been 45 million for a new school and renovations without touching the high school or middle school with the “extra’s” we would have been like the other 50 out of 57 schools and passed it…I don’t know who was on that citizens committee but from day one I knew it would fail…it was too big…and school tax’s I can say no too…city and county I can’t…they are also going up…In ten years of news in MN and IA and in that time I have covered 5 or 6 buildings and 4 or 5 operating levy’s etc…This was one of worst thought through attempts I have ever seen and the lack of prep was evident when I waited 30 minutes to cast a vote and talked with a dozen other supporters who said well I got better things to do then wait 30 min to vote…I just hope the district learns from this because they should have…
Jake Judd
1340 KDLM Lakes Live Host in Detroit Lakes
That’s really sad. People need to understand our children should be a priority.
That’s just scary.
That is so sad. I feel really blessed to live in a small community where the teacher to student ratio is so low.
Unfortunately there are a lot of crazy people out there so it’s imperative that we protect our kids. It’s nice to see that your school system is taking some steps to make this happen.