letters

ANOKA-HENNEPIN SCHOOLS

See how they're run

I would like to invite the author of the Oct. 26 letter "Turn down the levy" to visit Coon Rapids Middle School. We will start in my office, sitting at the conference table and chairs I purchased at a garage sale.

I will explain to him that not a single taxpayer penny went into purchasing the six interactive whiteboards, also known as SmartBoards, that are in our math classrooms. They were purchased with money from fundraisers. Any new technology bought since December 2002 has depended on the number of magazines our students have sold and on our success at winning some small grants.

Our school has one computer for every 10 students, and some of the computers are 10 years old. When they quit working, we purchase another with fundraiser dollars or try to get another old computer from the district warehouse. When the district is fortunate enough to buy new computers, needed to run new software, it sends the old ones to the warehouse where they wait until they are called into use again for tasks that don't require the power of the newer computers. I worry about how our students will be able to compete with students who have their own computer at school.

Next we will discuss eighth-grade math scores and visit a classroom. Our students' scores have increased since our teachers began using the SmartBoards, and we believe it's because this technology keeps students more fully engaged. We have 33 SmartBoards in our entire district, 1.6 percent of our classrooms. In contrast, Wayzata School District has SmartBoards in 20 percent of classrooms and is purchasing more.

We will also stop in the music department, where we will see students using posture chairs. These chairs are used in music classes across the country because they help students learn the correct posture for playing musical instruments and singing. They are purchased instead of regular chairs and wear like iron. I know this because I have been the administrator in charge of music curriculum for the district for last eight years. (As part of cuts in the early 1990s, the district eliminated curriculum consultants for a number of areas and assigned principals to serve in those roles.)

Yes, we occasionally discard some desks and chairs. They may look good, but they have been welded and rewelded until they are deemed unsafe for student use.

I am proud of my school and the education we provide. I welcome citizens to come and see how we are using their tax dollars.

MICHELLE LANGENFELD, RAMSEY;

MIDDLE-SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

LEVIES ON BALLOT

Why single out schools?

In a Oct. 28 commentary, Lynn Reed of the Minnesota Taxpayers Association suggests voter-approved school levies are good because they remind people "what it means to live as citizens in a self-governing society."

I believe voting is a civic responsibility. But I don't understand why schools need voter permission to raise revenues when other providers of core government services do not.

For example, a vote to fund the Internal Revenue Service would probably fail, but without the IRS we wouldn't have a federal government.

ANNE M. HOOPS, MINNEAPOLIS

RITCHIE'S REELECTION