*Opinions expressed in Letters to the Editor are not necessarily those of The Messenger.
In 1989, two Kenyon School Board members, unbeknownst to their board member colleagues, would forget about who they represented. One a business owner of farm equipment and the other one a doctor of farm animals in the Kenyon and Wanamingo area, they would not only step away from their legal responsibility and meet privately with the Wanamingo School Board Chairman and his board member colleagues, but a subsequent display of unprofessional behavior would cost further discussion with the West Concord School Board. When all was said and done, these two events would lead to the eventual merger of two school districts that has now cost Kenyon tax payers millions of dollars.
In 1995, there was another group of Kenyon School Board members trying their best to restore what had once been one of the finest school districts in Minnesota. As a recently consolidated school district with Wanamingo (1994), they attempted to establish a state-of-the-art PreK-12 facility in the Bombay area. But here is where a miscalculation was made. You see, the referendum that was called for required a yes vote from each community. Unlike today, when the votes will be a combined total, Kenyon voted YES and Wanamingo voted an overwhelming (84%) NO. While Kenyon was willing to give up their buildings to create something special for our children, Wanamingo was not so inclined. And the rest is history.
Today, the KW School District finds itself in serious trouble. After a long series of misguided school board decisions, we no longer find ourselves one of the elite schools in Southeastern Minnesota. As a matter of fact, it is for this reason that a petition has been drawn up that will hopefully give the tax payers a second chance to rectify the problem before it gets any worse. Made after considerable consideration, and with the foreknowledge that the Kenyon site can best accommodate the entire student body as we currently know it, the petition reads as follows:
Whereas Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools is in Statutory Operation Debt in the amount of 1.5 million dollars; and whereas Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools has been forced to borrow an additional 3 million dollars for Cash Flow Purposes; and whereas Kenyon-Wanamingo Public Schools has been forced to pay $43,000.00 for a one year Insurance Premium with a million dollar deductible for the Wanamingo site; and whereas a school board member has indicated that the Upgrade of the Wanamingo Site could be 4 million dollars; and whereas Student Attendance Numbers have shown a steady decline since we consolidated in 1994; and whereas Student Achievement continues to be substandard; and whereas we can no longer afford a Two Site Model, we the undersigned are petitioning the Kenyon-Wanamingo School Board to hold a Special Election, pursuant to Minnesota Statute 205A.05, subd, 1, for the express purpose of closing the Wanamingo site and creating a single PreK-12 site in the City of Kenyon, Minnesota beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.
Ladies and gentlemen, as I sit here today I can make no long-range predictions for the future, On the other hand, after 50 years in both public and higher education, I know we can no longer afford to support the habits of the current school board. This is not about a building but, rather, a civic responsibility with the future of our school district and its students at stake.
Therefore, and with the hope that you appreciate the gravity of the situation, I would like to set aside a time to allow the school district's tax payers the chance to sign a petition whereby 'the school board shall by resolution call a special election to vote on any matter requiring approval of the voters of a district.' With a “magic number” of 259 signatures, I have scheduled a petition signing forum at the Kenyon Community Center for Saturday, September 21, 2024, beginning at 10:00 A.M. I hope to see you there.
Finally, let the record show that these problems could have been avoided if the school board and its leadership team had taken the aforementioned circumstances more seriously. In the end, it should have been about our children and grandchildren rather than the preservation of an 85 years old building that needs to be retired from use for school purposes.
