Sadly, this seems to be the case with so many issues. People get mad, and then they just file it away, shrug, and go back to default setting of ignorance is bliss. In MO we have property taxes, sadly, and they fund about 60% of school budgets statewide, 65% in my county. State law requires reassessment every 2 years. In 2019, the county …
Sadly, this seems to be the case with so many issues. People get mad, and then they just file it away, shrug, and go back to default setting of ignorance is bliss. In MO we have property taxes, sadly, and they fund about 60% of school budgets statewide, 65% in my county. State law requires reassessment every 2 years. In 2019, the county exec and his team massively hiked values in a reassessment that saw a lot of (red) areas with huge increases, some 100% or more, 22K appeals, delays in statutory deadlines, and even headlines in the liberal local press about prominent D's getting low values, while many others getting screwed. Some had to sell as they could no longer afford their taxes. In 2021 they sandbagged values heading into the 2022 election year (all county offices run every 4 years). Voters totally forgot 2019 and re-elected the County Executive & his minions on the legislature for another 4 years, despite an army of us knocking doors for fiscal conservatives and warning of a tax Armageddon coming in 2023. Out of 9 legislature seats and one County exec, 2 Republicans won. 2023 is here. My value went up 60%, and that is nothing compared to others. My social media feed is filled with nothing but property tax woes posts. Meetings on how to appeal are filled to overflowing (and elected officials notably absent except for 1 of the R's). County estimates 60,000 appeals. One saving grace is the Hancock Amendment that limits taxing jurisdictions windfalls to 5% a year, so levy rates will have to be adjusted, but there are loopholes. People will lose their homes. State bills attempting to reform the system are killed by lobbyists for the teachers union, association cities and counties, and every other taxing jurisdiction lobby. Our city noted in their budget meeting for FY 24 that they have budgeted funds for MORE lobbyists. Interesting. And yet, county elections don't happen again until 2026. Will voters remember???
We had a huge army of volunteers for the 2022 school board elections, people were mad as h*ll about the board behavior during covid, and we got 2 conservatives elected for 2 seats. Three seats were open this Spring, and there were half the number of volunteers. Called, emailed, texted, begged....lots of excuses, but basically, the fire/anger had gone out. The left PAID their door-knockers. Out of town $$. We got one of 3 open seats.
Getting ready for 2024. Have to keep trying, what choice do we have?
This is the problem with succeeding in reducing the criticality of a problem - people aren't as worried, so other things resume their priority in people's lives. Unfortunately, the Left never stops, like we do. School Board seats are okay as a temporizing measure, but they don't change who the teachers are or who run the teacher's colleges, or the regular colleges, or the K-12 system, or what's shown in movies or told as 'news.' The real answer is to get school choice in each state, so people can opt out of the government school system and implode it through lack of students and funds.
I agree about the school board, but then again it is our tax dollars. Getting ready for a levy rate fight, I have learned that the budget for just our district alone has grown $128M in the last 10 years, a 46% increase, while ENROLLMENT HAS BEEN FLAT. (Due to more parents pulling their kids for home school or private - our population has grown 13% in that same time.) And a neighboring school district, with a majority conservative board has stopped at least some of the wokery in its tracks. In a district of 17K students, even if half of them bailed, there is no capacity for them currently if the state manages to pass school choice next year. We currently have a limited choice system, that helps some students but the fight continues. Privates all have big wait lists right now. And our city has limited available open land for development, and it doesn't come cheap, (unless you are an apartment developer and then its tax breaks and red carpet, sadly) so growing the 'choice' part is going to take years to build out capacity.
There are many more ways to educate children than the few you mention, and new private schools would pop up if families had the funds to pay for them. They can take over existing buildings, which do not have to have been built to be schools. It's the free market at work. Micro-schools are one exciting alternative, since they benefit the teachers as much as the students and families. In this model, say 10 families pool their school choice funds to pay a teacher to teach their 10 children. In Florida, that would amount to $80,000. The 'school' could be in a home of a family or the teacher, or rotate between them. Your budget has ballooned because of government; that's what government budgets and bureaucracies do.
True, mine are grown, so haven't dug into options as much as those with school age kids. Do have friends who are in a home school co-ops run in a couple of local churches, one has 300 kids. MO has fairly lax homeschool regs, but think the teacher pooling you describe is technically not legal, although heard of some creative end-arounds in the shutdowns of 2020 ad 2021 years. I am involved because so goes the schools, so goes the community. Twenty years ago, our school district was the heart of our community. Highly engaged parents, lots of volunteers from the community, support from local businesses, and high academic standards. Home values are higher than districts with failing schools, a lot higher. But politically, lots of inertia and few conservatives paying attention as leftists, who have mastered the long game, infiltrated committees, city council, school boards, etc. I ran for council trying to sound the alarm and lost in 2018. 10% turnout. Two disastrous superintendent hires in a row right after my youngest graduated a decade ago. Race baiting, focus on equity and ignoring discipline issues. Lots of apartments being built, admin looking the other way as students from surrounding failing districts coming in with sketchy residence documents, especially if they are good at sports. Test scores dropping, violence making headlines, and some are bailing for the exurbs. Can't convince hubby to move, so guess we are staying and fighting.
If micro-schools are unlawful currently, work to change the law. You said "so go the schools, so goes the community," and that's exactly why the Left started their highly successful "long march through the institutions" so many years ago. Keeping them as government schools simply keeps them as a fat target. No one can control thousands of parents making private decisions about education, in thousands of forms and venues. It's not just lower grades, either. I have in the past and my husband will be in the upcoming year teaching a group of high school homeschoolers in history, literature, religious doctrine and theology, and logic. When our son was in first grade, neither of us could be home full time, so I taught him on evenings and weekends and my husband did during the times he was neither in class nor teaching. The homeschooling families where I live are mostly single income (and not a very big income - it's a rural area) traditional families, who decided that their children's moral lives and educations were worth whatever it took to keep them out of government schools.
Just asking. Do people actually open their doors to door knockers anymore? I can’t really believe the left is getting ahead that way. That they hire people, who will fake things, that I can believe.
But from my viewpoint, in cities anyway, people are not opening their doors to strangers or they live in areas where knocking on someone’s door might get you shot.
I saw this article on how we have to get smarter. It wouldn’t take an army of people out in the heat and hazards of this world.
Well yes, we had the case of the teenager supposedly shot just for knocking on an old man's door in KC but I am sure that we have NOT gotten the full story on that one. But yes, people still answer the door. Knocked thousands in the last 5 years, it's great exercise! Maybe as I am a middle aged frumpy white woman who does not look sketchy? I dunno, but it is a numbers game, average about 1 in 4 doors answered if you hit at the right time of day. 4-7 PM and Sunday afternoons are best, except in neighborhoods with a lot of seniors, and then mornings are good. Scribble a handwritten note and leave flyers if no answer. We won in 2022 largely in part due to lots and lots of doors knocked. Hit every pancake breakfast, Chamber/Rotary/VFW lunch or coffee, people hosted meet and greets in their homes and invited neighbors. Money is not there for a major media campaigns, on either side, frankly, we are a suburb of KC and advertising in the wider market like TV and radio is $$$. Social media is fractured and trolls are thick, few under age 50 take the local paper which is a shoestring operation with 6-8 pages once a week. Yard signs and banners were everywhere. Formed a PAC and had volunteers handing out multi-candidate flyers on the back to basics slate of candidates at polling places on election day. City council and school board is still all about the ground game, and to have a ground game, you have to have volunteers. My best efforts we only covered 60% of polls open-close on election day this year. Half as many doors knocked as last year. The 2 who lost, only lost by less than 100 votes. Frustrating as h*ll.
Our state limits mail in voting to those who request a ballot, and it has to be notarized. We do have in person early voting, but limited locations, and voter ID is required at in person voting places. Is this overlooked in blue areas? Likely, there is always clean up to do. The fractal tech sounds really interesting, going to share with our County R Party chairman to see if this is something we can try here.
Well, I went to Build our Bench and Dan's presentation this week, but left at 7. I am not on the committee, but have been going to meetings here and there for a couple of years. I ran and lost last year as I didn't really campaign for it, too busy campaigning for everyone else, and frankly kind of glad as much drama as there is.
I would love to meet you at the next one, we fellow C&Cers need to stick together! I am a caretaker for my 84 YO mom and sometimes her issues throw a wrench in my schedule but I have the next one on my calendar. As far as I know I think I am the only semi regular attendee named Donna, so shouldn't be too hard to find me. I think the friction is just on hold for now. Legislature is no longer in session, primaries are still a ways off, so it's the calm before the next storm. Some of the newbies are pretty dang dug in, and the sad part is that while I greatly admire their passion and hard work, they are too idealistic in what we can reasonably accomplish in a blue county and this idea that we cling to the platform like it is the bible flies in the face of 'the real world' that the political process does mean give and take if anything is ever to be accomplished. A pure blood conservative may excite the base but if they lose in November we are wasting our time and money. I like people on both sides of this and it makes me sad that we are fighting amongst ourselves.
I’ll look for you at the next meeting. I usually sit over near the pool table. I think you are right about the newbies, and now I am one as of last meeting. I have hope the relationships will improve. I had an extended conversation with the chairman last month and do see a path forward. But I am new and reality may yet slap me in the face😜
Thanks for stepping up to serve! I talked to my cousin and his wife tonight, both are also on the committee, and they said a vote was NOT taken on Dan's proposal. The detractors 'want more time to discuss'. WTH? Dan and I have had some disagreements, but appreciate all he has done on this, and think it is just a power play that this thing did not get unanimous agreement. I am ready to sign up in my precinct. I do like Mark Anthony, he is way better than the previous Chair at getting folks out and visible in D areas, and works his butt off. No not perfect, but I admire his tenacity.
No a vote was not taken. I wasn’t sure what the money was to be spent for and discussion was closed before I got clarity so I was okay with the delay.
I saw his presentation and at first I was excited to hear what he proposed and then he drifted into citing all those numbers and to be honest my brain started to glaze over. It seemed a little like they spent a lot of time reinventing the wheel. So, yes, I have more questions.
I hesitated about signing up because of the infighting. And I don’t know if my presence will move the needle but I don’t want to sit on the side lines.
OK well my cousin's take was it was just sour grapes as they were not 'in on it'. Dan does have aspiration for Cierpiot's Senate seat, as does Jeff Coleman, so there's that floating around out there too. And the asks for $$ seem to be more and more frequent. So suppose the money part may need more scrutiny.
BLESS YOU FOR YOUR "FIRE" IN YOUR BELLY--believe it or not--the Revolution was NOT popular with the majoriety of people living in the 13 colonies...so you can feel assured that you are DOING RIGHT by the progenitors of our once great Constitutional Republic by door knocking, phone calling, e-mailing--WHATEVER IT TAKES to educate the voting public. If people want to be "stuck" in their stupidity''-well the onus is NOT on YOU, Donna.
Sadly, this seems to be the case with so many issues. People get mad, and then they just file it away, shrug, and go back to default setting of ignorance is bliss. In MO we have property taxes, sadly, and they fund about 60% of school budgets statewide, 65% in my county. State law requires reassessment every 2 years. In 2019, the county exec and his team massively hiked values in a reassessment that saw a lot of (red) areas with huge increases, some 100% or more, 22K appeals, delays in statutory deadlines, and even headlines in the liberal local press about prominent D's getting low values, while many others getting screwed. Some had to sell as they could no longer afford their taxes. In 2021 they sandbagged values heading into the 2022 election year (all county offices run every 4 years). Voters totally forgot 2019 and re-elected the County Executive & his minions on the legislature for another 4 years, despite an army of us knocking doors for fiscal conservatives and warning of a tax Armageddon coming in 2023. Out of 9 legislature seats and one County exec, 2 Republicans won. 2023 is here. My value went up 60%, and that is nothing compared to others. My social media feed is filled with nothing but property tax woes posts. Meetings on how to appeal are filled to overflowing (and elected officials notably absent except for 1 of the R's). County estimates 60,000 appeals. One saving grace is the Hancock Amendment that limits taxing jurisdictions windfalls to 5% a year, so levy rates will have to be adjusted, but there are loopholes. People will lose their homes. State bills attempting to reform the system are killed by lobbyists for the teachers union, association cities and counties, and every other taxing jurisdiction lobby. Our city noted in their budget meeting for FY 24 that they have budgeted funds for MORE lobbyists. Interesting. And yet, county elections don't happen again until 2026. Will voters remember???
We had a huge army of volunteers for the 2022 school board elections, people were mad as h*ll about the board behavior during covid, and we got 2 conservatives elected for 2 seats. Three seats were open this Spring, and there were half the number of volunteers. Called, emailed, texted, begged....lots of excuses, but basically, the fire/anger had gone out. The left PAID their door-knockers. Out of town $$. We got one of 3 open seats.
Getting ready for 2024. Have to keep trying, what choice do we have?
This is the problem with succeeding in reducing the criticality of a problem - people aren't as worried, so other things resume their priority in people's lives. Unfortunately, the Left never stops, like we do. School Board seats are okay as a temporizing measure, but they don't change who the teachers are or who run the teacher's colleges, or the regular colleges, or the K-12 system, or what's shown in movies or told as 'news.' The real answer is to get school choice in each state, so people can opt out of the government school system and implode it through lack of students and funds.
I agree about the school board, but then again it is our tax dollars. Getting ready for a levy rate fight, I have learned that the budget for just our district alone has grown $128M in the last 10 years, a 46% increase, while ENROLLMENT HAS BEEN FLAT. (Due to more parents pulling their kids for home school or private - our population has grown 13% in that same time.) And a neighboring school district, with a majority conservative board has stopped at least some of the wokery in its tracks. In a district of 17K students, even if half of them bailed, there is no capacity for them currently if the state manages to pass school choice next year. We currently have a limited choice system, that helps some students but the fight continues. Privates all have big wait lists right now. And our city has limited available open land for development, and it doesn't come cheap, (unless you are an apartment developer and then its tax breaks and red carpet, sadly) so growing the 'choice' part is going to take years to build out capacity.
There are many more ways to educate children than the few you mention, and new private schools would pop up if families had the funds to pay for them. They can take over existing buildings, which do not have to have been built to be schools. It's the free market at work. Micro-schools are one exciting alternative, since they benefit the teachers as much as the students and families. In this model, say 10 families pool their school choice funds to pay a teacher to teach their 10 children. In Florida, that would amount to $80,000. The 'school' could be in a home of a family or the teacher, or rotate between them. Your budget has ballooned because of government; that's what government budgets and bureaucracies do.
BEAUTIFUL goal plan, Fla Mom - preach it every chance you get!
True, mine are grown, so haven't dug into options as much as those with school age kids. Do have friends who are in a home school co-ops run in a couple of local churches, one has 300 kids. MO has fairly lax homeschool regs, but think the teacher pooling you describe is technically not legal, although heard of some creative end-arounds in the shutdowns of 2020 ad 2021 years. I am involved because so goes the schools, so goes the community. Twenty years ago, our school district was the heart of our community. Highly engaged parents, lots of volunteers from the community, support from local businesses, and high academic standards. Home values are higher than districts with failing schools, a lot higher. But politically, lots of inertia and few conservatives paying attention as leftists, who have mastered the long game, infiltrated committees, city council, school boards, etc. I ran for council trying to sound the alarm and lost in 2018. 10% turnout. Two disastrous superintendent hires in a row right after my youngest graduated a decade ago. Race baiting, focus on equity and ignoring discipline issues. Lots of apartments being built, admin looking the other way as students from surrounding failing districts coming in with sketchy residence documents, especially if they are good at sports. Test scores dropping, violence making headlines, and some are bailing for the exurbs. Can't convince hubby to move, so guess we are staying and fighting.
If micro-schools are unlawful currently, work to change the law. You said "so go the schools, so goes the community," and that's exactly why the Left started their highly successful "long march through the institutions" so many years ago. Keeping them as government schools simply keeps them as a fat target. No one can control thousands of parents making private decisions about education, in thousands of forms and venues. It's not just lower grades, either. I have in the past and my husband will be in the upcoming year teaching a group of high school homeschoolers in history, literature, religious doctrine and theology, and logic. When our son was in first grade, neither of us could be home full time, so I taught him on evenings and weekends and my husband did during the times he was neither in class nor teaching. The homeschooling families where I live are mostly single income (and not a very big income - it's a rural area) traditional families, who decided that their children's moral lives and educations were worth whatever it took to keep them out of government schools.
Beautifully shared, Fla Mom!!
Just asking. Do people actually open their doors to door knockers anymore? I can’t really believe the left is getting ahead that way. That they hire people, who will fake things, that I can believe.
But from my viewpoint, in cities anyway, people are not opening their doors to strangers or they live in areas where knocking on someone’s door might get you shot.
I saw this article on how we have to get smarter. It wouldn’t take an army of people out in the heat and hazards of this world.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/valentine-how-compute-left-republicans-cannot-fraud-left/
Well yes, we had the case of the teenager supposedly shot just for knocking on an old man's door in KC but I am sure that we have NOT gotten the full story on that one. But yes, people still answer the door. Knocked thousands in the last 5 years, it's great exercise! Maybe as I am a middle aged frumpy white woman who does not look sketchy? I dunno, but it is a numbers game, average about 1 in 4 doors answered if you hit at the right time of day. 4-7 PM and Sunday afternoons are best, except in neighborhoods with a lot of seniors, and then mornings are good. Scribble a handwritten note and leave flyers if no answer. We won in 2022 largely in part due to lots and lots of doors knocked. Hit every pancake breakfast, Chamber/Rotary/VFW lunch or coffee, people hosted meet and greets in their homes and invited neighbors. Money is not there for a major media campaigns, on either side, frankly, we are a suburb of KC and advertising in the wider market like TV and radio is $$$. Social media is fractured and trolls are thick, few under age 50 take the local paper which is a shoestring operation with 6-8 pages once a week. Yard signs and banners were everywhere. Formed a PAC and had volunteers handing out multi-candidate flyers on the back to basics slate of candidates at polling places on election day. City council and school board is still all about the ground game, and to have a ground game, you have to have volunteers. My best efforts we only covered 60% of polls open-close on election day this year. Half as many doors knocked as last year. The 2 who lost, only lost by less than 100 votes. Frustrating as h*ll.
Our state limits mail in voting to those who request a ballot, and it has to be notarized. We do have in person early voting, but limited locations, and voter ID is required at in person voting places. Is this overlooked in blue areas? Likely, there is always clean up to do. The fractal tech sounds really interesting, going to share with our County R Party chairman to see if this is something we can try here.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I know we are smarter than THEM, but we’ve got to get it together.
Here’s something to contemplate.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/valentine-how-compute-left-republicans-cannot-fraud-left/
Valentine is right. As a former database person, agree that we need to use computers & data to expose the fraud ahead of the election!
What part of the metro area are you in? I think our paths must cross at some point.
Lee's Summit
I thought maybe so. Do you go to Tiff N Jay’s the fourth Monday each month?
Well, I went to Build our Bench and Dan's presentation this week, but left at 7. I am not on the committee, but have been going to meetings here and there for a couple of years. I ran and lost last year as I didn't really campaign for it, too busy campaigning for everyone else, and frankly kind of glad as much drama as there is.
This was my fourth meeting, much more productive this week and less drama. I’m hoping the friction between the newbies and the old guard is fading.
I would love to meet you at the next one, we fellow C&Cers need to stick together! I am a caretaker for my 84 YO mom and sometimes her issues throw a wrench in my schedule but I have the next one on my calendar. As far as I know I think I am the only semi regular attendee named Donna, so shouldn't be too hard to find me. I think the friction is just on hold for now. Legislature is no longer in session, primaries are still a ways off, so it's the calm before the next storm. Some of the newbies are pretty dang dug in, and the sad part is that while I greatly admire their passion and hard work, they are too idealistic in what we can reasonably accomplish in a blue county and this idea that we cling to the platform like it is the bible flies in the face of 'the real world' that the political process does mean give and take if anything is ever to be accomplished. A pure blood conservative may excite the base but if they lose in November we are wasting our time and money. I like people on both sides of this and it makes me sad that we are fighting amongst ourselves.
I’ll look for you at the next meeting. I usually sit over near the pool table. I think you are right about the newbies, and now I am one as of last meeting. I have hope the relationships will improve. I had an extended conversation with the chairman last month and do see a path forward. But I am new and reality may yet slap me in the face😜
Thanks for stepping up to serve! I talked to my cousin and his wife tonight, both are also on the committee, and they said a vote was NOT taken on Dan's proposal. The detractors 'want more time to discuss'. WTH? Dan and I have had some disagreements, but appreciate all he has done on this, and think it is just a power play that this thing did not get unanimous agreement. I am ready to sign up in my precinct. I do like Mark Anthony, he is way better than the previous Chair at getting folks out and visible in D areas, and works his butt off. No not perfect, but I admire his tenacity.
No a vote was not taken. I wasn’t sure what the money was to be spent for and discussion was closed before I got clarity so I was okay with the delay.
I saw his presentation and at first I was excited to hear what he proposed and then he drifted into citing all those numbers and to be honest my brain started to glaze over. It seemed a little like they spent a lot of time reinventing the wheel. So, yes, I have more questions.
I hesitated about signing up because of the infighting. And I don’t know if my presence will move the needle but I don’t want to sit on the side lines.
OK well my cousin's take was it was just sour grapes as they were not 'in on it'. Dan does have aspiration for Cierpiot's Senate seat, as does Jeff Coleman, so there's that floating around out there too. And the asks for $$ seem to be more and more frequent. So suppose the money part may need more scrutiny.
BLESS YOU FOR YOUR "FIRE" IN YOUR BELLY--believe it or not--the Revolution was NOT popular with the majoriety of people living in the 13 colonies...so you can feel assured that you are DOING RIGHT by the progenitors of our once great Constitutional Republic by door knocking, phone calling, e-mailing--WHATEVER IT TAKES to educate the voting public. If people want to be "stuck" in their stupidity''-well the onus is NOT on YOU, Donna.
Aw thanks, just wish I was a better motivator. Many hands make light work.
That was a former pastor's retort when asking for volunteers for "work brigades"--LOL!