‘Yes’ votes on both school election 

questions are votes for our future

To the Editor,

Our community’s clock is ticking.

In two weeks, Frazee-Vergas School District residents will have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on the future of local children, staff and school-related businesses. In other words, we get to do our part in ensuring the day-to-day success of our neighbors and their families.

This is a topic close to my heart. Five generations of my family have attended Frazee schools.

Some of you might remember meeting my sons through the weekly “Puppy Dog Tales” column in the Frazee Forum. Now, they are young men who are both educators at FHS, and their wives are educators as well. We’re looking forward to generation six as Frazee Hornets.

On November 3, I will cast a “YES” vote on each of the two school-related ballot questions.

Neither my taxes nor anyone else’s will face a tax impact on these measures. I’m hopeful you will vote the same, and here is why.

The first item on the ballot relates to the Minnesota Permanent School Fund (PSF), which was established in 1858 – that’s 168 years ago, 30 years before my great-grandparents immigrated to Minnesota.

The PSF is a trust which accumulates money from 2.5 million total acres of public land to help fund education for all of Minnesota’s children, regardless of the type of school they attend. Basically, this is set up for the sole purpose of generating educational revenue for our next generations.

This item is a constitutional amendment which would modernize how the fund distributions are done, the annual distribution percentage would almost double, and the annual distribution per student would almost double without raising taxes.

The second item is a bit more in-depth. It is an operating referendum which would redirect seasonal property tax dollars from the State back to our District. This would unlock $230,000 tax dollars annually to our school, and the ballot states this is a tax increase, but it actually would have zero tax impact because the Local Operating Revenue would decrease by the same amount.

It is a funding shift which will have a dramatic impact on the budget of our school.

Our school has earned the opportunity to seek this funding, but it needs our help. Why should that matter? Before my family was here, and possibly before yours was here, too, our predecessors knew that what they did would have a permanent impact on the success of communities like ours.

We owe it to past and future generations to continue that legacy, and we owe it to ourselves to understand the implications. If we vote on other races but leave one of these questions blank, it will be counted as a “No” vote.

Right now, Frazee-Vergas businesses are thriving. We have well-established places to meet, shop and eat, and new, exciting things to do, too. We have parks and activities, and we have attractions such as the Big Tom and Little Tom turkey statues, the moose at the goose pond, murals, and a troll which draws 35,000 visitors to Frazee each year.

We have families who bring their children to school and grab gas and coffee on the way to work.

At the end of the day, they pick up groceries or dinner before heading to a school activity or other local events.

We have growth and excitement. Our hard work is paying off, and our elementary and high schools are central to this.

With a more severely constricted District budget, many of those pieces would fade. Jobs would disappear. Class sizes would increase, and class options would decrease. Families might educate their children elsewhere because all these wonderful choices would no longer exist.

You and I can continue to be part of a strong school district which gives children and families a strong reason to continue calling this area “home.” From our household to yours, I urge you to make a difference on November 3, by voting “YES” on both of these election items.

Respectfully,

Lori Fischer Thorp

FHS Class of 1979

(For more information: www.minnesotaPSFamendment.org, www.frazee.k12.mn.us)