Elk Konnected Hand out at County Commissioners meeting on 4/25

[Ross]

So okay, it seems I may have left the School Board meeting a little early from what I have heard !

Before I go on, I have to remind you what the President of the Board said, that instead of taking the full 8 mil property tax increase take only 5 mil, because he wanted a buffer.

Well, I don't believe that because at a board meeting a few months back after the Bond Issue was voted down he angrily said, I don't care how mad the voters get? And I do believe, he doesn't care about the property owners, the taxpayers or the voters, or how much he hurts them, That's my opinion and I am sticking to it.

Well, I was informed by a reliable source that the board further discussed the 8 mil property tax increase and supposedly voted to only take 1 mil. Call it a rumor if you wish. But fact is there is still a Resolution for 8 mil.

Now pardon me, but I think that the 1 mil is just a ruse.

Why?

Because you do not need a legally posted Resolution for a 1 mil property tax increase.
And that is backed up by the fact that they increased our property taxes and sucked up the property tax break that the County Board gave us.
And they can still take the full 8 mil if the Resolution goes uncontested.

Now, why a 1 mil property tax increase, that is the question ?

Since I wasn't there and even though I consider it from a reliable source, the 1 mil is because they are I was told they are $1100 in the red.

Whoa, don't these folks understand a budget?
A budget board members means you don't go in the red?
It means you control your spending?

Was crowning the football field a necessity of such a nature to go in the red?
               Was paying nearly $30K versus $7K a wise move for that crowning?

Was the expense of an Automatic Sprinkler System worth breaking the Budget?

I don't think so !
I think the School Board needs to wise up about their spending habits.

Why petition to oppose and stop the 8 mil Resolution?

Because one the President of the Board basically said they don't need it
And because, if it isn't blocked they can legally take the 8 mil tax increase any way if un-opposed.

Also the petition would send yet another message to the School Board that is either ignorant of the two previous messages or just don't care !

I am still working on the Opposition Petition to block the above mentioned Resolution.

I'm not a lawyer and I can't afford a lawyer so I have been studying to put it together, wish me luck, please.

One closing question ! Why has yet another board member resigned?  He was just re-elected and his term had not even started? WHY? I may delve into that later!

Diane all the above is my thoughts and opinions and I don't ask you or anyone else to believe a word of it. You may if you choose to, or you any totally ignore it. That is your right Diane and I respect that. But remember this information is only concerning Elk County, Kansas voters, property owners and property owner taxpayers, not the state of Delaware or Montgomery County, Kansas.

[Ross]

Does the School Board really need an 8 mill property tax hike ?
You decide !

If they re in fact $1100,00 in the red and they have an increase in State funding exceeding that amount do they really need an 8 mill property tax increase? Or are they jus being greedy?

I posted this not long back, Please check the numbers for yourself.

The West Elk Superintendent voiced his concern several times last year at board meetings that the school funding might be cut. Well I found this information on line and perhaps it may help ease his concerns.

State Aid excluding KPERS, Special Education and Bond & Interest Aid*                     

USD #   County District Name  2013-14   2014-15           2015-16             2016-17            2014-17 Change

282      Elk          West Elk        2,658,989     2,915,014      2,925,185     2,946,507                    10.8%
283      Elk          Elk Valley       1,481,895     1,534,974     1,540,678      1,552,638                      4.8%


Source: Kansas Dept. of Education.  Per KSDE, a few smaller aid programs are also not included such as juvenile detention facilities, parents as teachers, pre-K pilot and school food service.                     
                     

I hope this information is useful to everyone.

I see an increase of $10,171 increase in funding over last year
that should take care of their $1100.00 in the red easily.

[Ross]

The citizens in the following news story
have not stood up for their rights
as concerned citizens
and
look where it lead them !
Will we continue to sit on our laurals
and sit and wait until it hurts?
And wait until it's to late?
Read what happens when citizens ignore what their elected officials are doing.

(My added notes.)

2 ILLEGAL ALIENS
APPOINTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE
IN HUNTINGTON PARK

by WILLIAM BIGELOW   4 Aug 2015

Two illegal aliens were appointed to city commissions in Huntington Park on Monday.

Julian Zatarain, 21, who emigrated from Sinaloa in 2007, was appointed to the Huntington Park parks and recreation commission, while Francisco Medina, 29, was appointed to the health and education commission. Zatarain had worked with the Red Cross before his appointment.

The area in which the men live has become a haven for illegal immigrants, and noted for the communities' lack of interest in the civic process. According to the Los Angeles Times, voter turnout has dropped below 10% in some elections; one election in Bell saw only 2% of eligible voters casting a ballot while another election in South Gate only elicited 3% of voters to vote.

50% of Huntington Park's population comes from outside the United States; over 97% of the population is Latino, according to Southern California Public Radio. Huntington Park Mayor Karina Macias told the Times, "Our population includes documented and undocumented immigrants, and I wanted to make sure everyone could participate. If we're going to talk about transparency, being open and having a community that's involved, then the conversation also has to include undocumented immigrants. I'm hoping other cities are looking at what we're doing here."     I say no, illegal is illegal. If they break one law what is to stop them from breaking other laws less serious?

Jhonny Pineda, the Huntington Park councilman who appointed the two men, added, "These two gentlemen have thousands of hours of volunteer work. They are qualified but it just turns out they are undocumented."
It just turns out they are illegal, they are lwa breakers and even less qualified than proper citizens.

But Linda Caraballo, a former councilwoman in Huntington Park, opposed the appointments, telling the Times, "There are more qualified people. How could they be policy advisors if they can't even vote for the council members? This is just going to bring media attention, it's going to create national debate and it is something the city of Huntington Park doesn't need."

Macias said city officials began considering appointing illegal immigrants two months ago, when applications became available; state law does not ban the practice. Does state law recognize them as criminals, doesn't illegal mean criminal?

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/04/2-illegal-aliens-appointed-to-public-office-in-huntington-park/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

[Ross]

Dr. David Whetstone West Elk USD282 School Board member at large ran for re-election, gets re-elected, then resigns before his re-election time even gets started.  What's with that?

What kind of leadership do we have in this County?

What have we had? Isn't it about 3 or 4 School Board members just up and resign, just walk away,
just quit ? 

I had a person tell me Whetstone  up and quit everything   ----  quit everything?
That made me wonder, so I checked Elk Konneced's web sight and he is still listed as Community Contact Dr. David Whetstone (316) 708-0296 and as a member of their Steering Committee so I guess he hasn't quit everything. But thatl makes me wonder about Elk Konneced's Steering Committee. Why? Well I'm curious about Jennifer Montgomery still being listed as a Steering Committee member because I understood she moved out of the County. Does anyone know fi these two people are still active withElk Konneced ? Heck is Elk Konneced still active?

And that brings to mind the fact that we had 3 or 4 employees of the West Elk USD-282 quite under strange circumstances and lots of County rumors. Oh well, so much for intelligent leadership.

Why does the County keep electing people that are afraid to ask the hard questions and doing the right things by the voters and taxpayers?

Hard questions like what are budgets for? 
And should we live with-in our means?   
Why do we need a Taj Mahal of a School?
Why do we need a professional Football field at great expense, Such a great expense as to bust the budget? Why can't we be sensible?

I'd like to ask with these community organizations in Elk County, Elk Konnected and Elk County Community Foundation (ECCF) where is their Leadership abilities to influence the School Board to be reasonable and stop overtaxing the property owners?
Do they really care about the Elk County community?

Oh, wait a minute they have the same leadership don't they?
They may have members on the School Board, huh ?

They have to be aware, the higher the taxes go the more population they lose, the more population they loose abn the more students they lose. Also the more customers the businesses lose doing damage to The Elk County Economy. Also the raising of taxes makes running a business much more difficult to run, with out losing customers.

So, what is it the Leadership of Elk County is really trying to do.

Remember a year or two ago they were trying to set up a program to allow certain people to have property tax breaks, for making improvements to their properties? I thought that was totally wrong running a program in the country that was designed for major cities. I believed then and I believe now it was mainly for those who came up with the idea, probably, because they had major property repairs coming up that they would have had to have done anyway and get a taxbreak for 5 years. Isn't that a possibility? What a way that would be to treat yourself, huh?

It all sounds a lot like the Federal Government to me, what do you think?

Yes, you should question everything and even question what I post.
That is a part of being a concerned citizen in my opinion.

It's time to take a stand as voters and property taxpayers, isn't it?
Time to make some changes, don't you think ?

When it comes voting time get your friend or relative, you know the average working man, the everyday woman, the down to earth people to run. They could do a better job of communicating with each other and a better job of asking the questions to get the job done right and most assuradly better.

I truly believe it would be a boon to Elk County.

I sure am sorry Mr. Bellar left the School Board because he appeared to be the only one with any common sense.

Just some of my thoughts and opinions and questions of my own.
Just trying to stir up some ideas for the betterment of Elk County.
I'm not sitting up a circle of chairs to coerce anyone to sit in.


I forgot to tell you I am waiting for the County Attorney to approve my petition.
He has been busy with a court trial of some kind. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[redcliffsw]

It's still a government board, a school board.  What kind of Americans serve on those boards except those who wish to perpetuate the system called government schools as a part of the "community". 

Another liberal will take his place.   It's all for the good of the kids to indoctrinate them for socialism in the community and the world community.

Dogs bark and the convoy moves on.

[Ross]

It's still a government board, a school board.  What kind of Americans serve on those boards except those who wish to perpetuate the system called government schools as a part of the "community". 

Another liberal will take his place.   It's all for the good of the kids to indoctrinate them for socialism in the community and the world community.

Dogs bark and the convoy moves on.

I would like to think we could improve the way the system works Redclif..

I'd bet that the people doing the job thought the same thing at one time, but got swept up in doing the same old thing that politics was doing before them. 

That's why I liked Mr. Bellar on the school board, he was interested in doing the right things and had lots of common sense.

Mr. Bellar was instrumental in getting one School Superintendent removed and that was a major improvement in my oinion.

The major problem for him was that one man can not work by himself.

He lacked the support ofothers with common sense.

We are stuck with the system and we need to improve it !

[redcliffsw]

I know what you're saying, but the government schools by their very nature are socialist.  I don't see how anything can improve the government schools. 

In the first place, we shouldn't be paying taxes to schools.  Schools have government power to force you to pay them to indoctrinate your kids.  Is it any wonder that every year they want more money and they willfully take it from you by force?  That system has been in place since the War For Southern Independence to expand socialist doctrine.  Nothing patriotic about the schools, they're government controlled to control you and your kids.




 

[Ross]

     Well I've got some good news for all you property owners that pay prperty tax for West Elk USD-282.

I have my petition all wrote up after several weeks of studying Kansas Laws and reading the Attorney Generals opinions on and opposition petition to force the school to take their 8 mil tax increase to the voters.

This opposition petition is in response to their 8 mil resolution in the local news paper which aloows them to automatically raise your property taxes.

In my opinion the school board has two things on their mind building a professional sports complex and raising your property taxes. They don't care about a budget and spend 10's of thousands of dollars very foolishly.

They have simply been throwing your money away. And as the School Board President stated angrily at a board meeting, he doesn't care how mad the voters get.

So any way they found this way of going around you the voter, this thing called a Resolution.
Do you want to let them to skirt your vote?

Well this petition can stop that action and force them to treat you as if you really count, that you are just as important as they think they are.

Remember the property tax break our County Government gave us?
Did you see it on your taxes?
I didn't, in fact my property taxes went up a little.
Do you wonder why?
Well, West Elk School Board jumped right on it and sucked it right up.
Wasn't that sweet of them?
If the County stops that tax break do yu think the West Elk School Board will return the tax to you?
I know they won't!

They have a real problem and I call it greed!

Our Federal Government has a wasteful spending problem and they simply keep Raising their Debt Ceiling.

Much like the West Elk School Board with ther wasteful spending problem, only the West Elk School Board  just keep Raising the Tax Ceiling.

The School Board has chosen to ignore every message the voters have sent them, let's send the one more.

I need your help, I'll take all the heat, but I need your signature on the petition.

I am pretty busy this week, but I will be out and about once in a while gathering signatures.

Next week, I plan to put forth a concentrated effort at collecting signatures. I only need 125  signatures but I want to provide more. I'd like to get 200 0r  there abouts.

The School Board at their last board meeting said they were $1,100 in the red. That means they have no reguard for their budget.

With your support,
                            we as a community,
                                                          can do this.

We can slow down an out of control School Board.

[Ross]

I forgot to say only registered voters in the West Elk School District may sign the petition.

Please and Thank you.

[redcliffsw]

Good job!  Stay right in there and stay on 'em.