Good afternoon. I'm Joe Kelly in the Twin ports. It's a half minute before 12 central time. I have before 1 Eastern Time. Welcome to the September installment of our radio town meeting series during the day on these Minnesota Public Radio Stations radio town meeting is funded in part by the northeastern Minnesota initiative fund the foundation created to address the economic social and human needs of Northeastern Minnesota by fostering local problem-solving efforts in cultivating local and Regional leadership.Today's town meeting deals with the problems and challenges facing small schools in our region. We have guests with us your Nardo's Studios and we'll take your calls and comments in a few moments. But first as we usually do for our radio town meeting, we have a feature story concerning our topic. According to one estimate half of Minnesota's 430 public school districts educate 90% of the state's public school children some Minnesota policymakers. They having the other half most of them in small towns educate only 10% of students is inefficient. Recently. The state of Minnesota is stepping up the pressure on small districts with open enrollment in financial incentives to get those districts to cooperate and perhaps even to consolidate the people who live in smaller communities are possessive of what are in affect their neighborhood schools. Even if the neighborhood is hundreds of square miles instead of a few city blocks this month. We visited one of those schools in Esko to see how teachers parents and students are handling the Fallout from the state education policy in the classroom. Then what and what now this is not separated from what we've done for the last week the seniors in Geralyn fortner's Esko high school English class or leaning forward struggling the grass the teachers instructions. The classroom is clean and bright reflecting escos pride and it's cool. If any I'll state school system is able to survive. It seems this average small-town 50 miles south of Duluth could but despite best efforts this train of maintaining a small independent school is starting to show tight budgets first five of us goes 31 High School teaching positions to be cut Gary schmidtke is start music and band for 31 years managed to hang on to his job. We lost teachers. What was 7 years ago. And we never really got them completely back and then we lost him again this year. So it's been ongoing for some time and And now like this year I have the same job. I had his last year and I'm teaching two classes. I've never talked before. And needless to say the teachers of dryer before I teach me so I can teach the kids and I'm just keeping ahead of them on Snap is not doing the kids any favors and savings from sharing a superintendent with nearby Carlton for a variety of reasons. Including is low number of welfare families. Esco receives. No supplements to the minimum $2,800 per pupil unit from the state. Most other districts do schmidtke says the squeeze change how he feels about teaching first not knowing if I had a job and it didn't look like it did have any fun eventually. I finally had a job and none of it in the field in which I had been teaching in 432g or 31 years. Yeah. It's kind of stressful and I mean it just just downright damn scary and if this does not set up and everything went good at all for you. In fact, you get to the point that you look down at my look at my age and I say I got to make it six more years and I can get out of this business. And it's not because of the kids but it's because of the situation we've been put into his stress and dissatisfaction is shared by Hesco High parents like Mary Halsted, but I just came from a band who's teaching art and computer programming. As well as a full load of band. I think the impact is poor. My son. I felt had a really creative enthusiastic math teacher in 7th grade in a row Progressive math class and he was he was laid off a year ago. And I think that he was a real last for the school, but I guess I don't feel the sadness as much as I feel anger. An ethical political issue many people in small school districts a Minnesota state government is deliberately mandating more advanced academic programs while reducing the rate of financial aid. They say the state's agenda is only partly hidden. And is anybody forcing small schools to merge with large ones and they say that sacrifices a sense of community for technical expertise, but Minnesota education commissioner Ruth Randall defense State policy saying its goal is to actively seek a culture of achievement sees the need for higher levels of learning and different kinds of money for student discussion of the triggered by open enrollment. Another things is just unreal Ted colder is with the center for policy studies in Minneapolis. They are only about academics A lot of things go on in schools. You don't have more of if you have a bigger school. You don't have more valedictorians. If you have a bigger school, you have one you don't have more football teams. If you have a bigger school, you have won all kinds of opportunities for kids to participate and grow and develop there's only one up. So if there are three if there's a bigger school, there are more kids who don't get to participate or to succeed 12th grader a vrhovnik leads the council and she says kids feel the financial pinch with fewer course offerings and especially through teacher layoffs after one year. So just like we had a teacher last year. She was young and she was understanding. She just got out of college and I know she really cared about since she's always happy and she's always there for us, you know, every day was just smile and I commented, you know, just make things fun. And we really miss her but rodnick's has the number of students in each classroom is creeping upward. He came in thinking everything that goes and I just wanted out of that cuz I mean, I like to get my work done and everything possible to take more responsibility in class for the education that can be good for some kids but teacher say big classes restrict the personal attention everyone's used to in a small school Gary Schmidt. He says he resents what's happening to his school at the hands of the governor and I use the system itself that allow something like this to happen. I mean, I feel that If we call what we call equalize funding in the state of Minnesota if this is it, there's not working. Rudy isn't doing us any favors. The center for policy studies Ted Coulter. He says Minnesota small schools are only a problem because State leaders think they are Minnesota is pretty stuck on Big school is a good school that a good school is a big list of courses. If you have a big list of courses, you must be a good a good school. I don't know quite all of what goes into this. A lot of things go into with the donuts. Are they have a lot to do with what's good for kids some people in places like Esco will fight what they see is State policies that undercut their schools. But like English teacher Jerilyn Fortner, they fear that the small schools. They treasure are steadily fading away. Trump I'm still going to teach not going to change everything and I'm going to make the best of what I have, but it's it's writing. Enesco. I'm Joe Kelly reported. It's 8 minutes past 12 central time. I'm Joe Kelly in the Twin ports. And this is Radio town meeting during mid-day. Today. We're talkin about the challenges and problems facing small school districts in our region in the studio with us today. First marital called she's a professor in the education department of the College of st. Scholastica Duluth. She's 4 years or she's in her fourth year. Now she supervises student-teacher to wear out in small high schools around the region and you can get their first jobs in those school and fresh call Taught herself for 18 years in high school 16 of those at North Branch High School, which is a small town School in Chisago County or other guests joined is actually by phone today from st. Paul. He's Troy Matteson Hamline University in st. Paul. Troy is a 1989 graduate of Mountain iron-buhl High School where he was student council president and where he led a short student. Got last year. Did you see all his schooling in Mountain iron ore am Ivy schools and that he's thinking about majoring in political science and that he's also understand just yesterday represent freshman representative on the student Congress at Hamlin. Good afternoon, Troy. How much Troy Al start with you how much of your education do you think was affected by financial and political problems at your school district Mountain iron-buhl? I'd say virtually none, but I think the teachers and students did real well as far as what we know Myron school to learn and stress. What teachers and students wanted to have to deal with would you rather not have had to deal with those problems? I think the students want everyone involved basically good things and look at things before that. It was it a real-world experience for you. Tell me who teaches teachers and has been a teacher yourself can small schools provide the education that that kids need nowadays. I feel they can because I think they add a dimension of the real human touch that kids need adolescence. My experience was in the high school and adolescents need a lot of time. They need a lot of attention. They need relationships and I think in addition to coursework and I think often if they to quote Virginia's a tear in her book people making if they are valuing themselves and feeling valued than they are ready ready to learn and I think a small school with small student-teacher ratios offers them the opportunities to To Value themselves, and then so that they can prepare themselves for learning. So I think small schools definitely have a place in the educational process many Advanced courses Henson as a big school. Right eye. I think courses are one phase of learning and I think yes, they're vitally important. You need to have subject matter and you need to have forces acting as vehicles for teaching students the skills of reading and writing and communicating and through those subjects subjects. They also need to learn something about self-esteem and who they are and I think small schools even though they don't offer all of the course offerings can definitely allow students to develop another way. Two communicating into participating in things and through having several adults being interested in what they're doing and who they are. It's past 12:00 central time. If you'd like to join our discussion, give us a call and we can get you on the are the phone number here in the Twin ports to 29411. And anywhere else you can hear us in Wisconsin, Minnesota or Michigan. You can call us at one 800-535-1606. That's one 800-535-1606 call or here in the Twin ports. Call us at 722-9411. When visiting with Myrtle call and was Troy Matteson about education in smaller schools going back to the situation about interview, of course well-publicized situation a lot of stress. We heard that some of the people in Esko which is certainly not is as well known as him IV for having problems that they talked a lot about stress and strain. How long can a the community within a school survive that kind of pressure neck kind of stress and still remain positive and viable. Do you think definitely push it to the Limit? Is it this year pretty much come down if it was like last year? I don't think I would definitely think that this would be the last year that maybe Definitely, there's a lot of pressure and stress and it was amazing and the way that they get the kids and the teachers. How can I different things whether it's open enrollment? Which would you do? Cause our problem? And the money coming in from school districts. I don't know if anybody's guess I have to face these kind of realities of the financial pressures and political pressures and all the other policy pressures on an out of school and the kids feel about her. Well, of course, I mean changes and difficulties are a part of life and I think yes kids can learn a great deal from that as can teachers and stress is a part of life and perhaps, you know, the whole school Community can be engaged in in dealing with outside pressures and change and perhaps find some way to a kind of creative handling of those problems. So I think almost any situation in life you can take it and turn it around so that there's something in there for you to learn. Yes. Okay. I might be as good as let it came to think that's going to keep the school district going. Is Bella Vida Estates to play a little bit more than maybe they should but maybe he is definitely have pride in that. I think that will help with her. That's right around keeping the kids proud. He was a big factor in basketball. Prefer the kickstand Point pride in knowing that we haven't even helped us, but we can do some real positive things in the bathroom. You like to join our discussion give us a call here in the Twin ports at 7 to 29411 at 7 to 29411 anywhere else. You can hear us one 805-351-6061 800-535-1606 discussion in the political Arena about education and academics and in and hear some people say while we going to do away with sports to do away with extracurricular activities and just focus on teaching kids how to how to do skills. How important is it to have things like football teams in volleyball teams for a for a community's well-being in a schools. That will be Well, I think that they're very important. I think the whole Arena of extracurricular activities are important again, if we if we are thinking that we are educating human beings and we want to give them every opportunity to tap on their own potential in to grow into if you will self-actualize we want to give him those opportunities. Then I think those things are all very important that includes drama includes music get includes Sports all kinds of things. Have another listen with the question. Go ahead, please. Hello. Hello. Yes, where you at? 6 5th and yes, I'm supposed to have a great Scholastic Scholastic this idea that if we just get a big school system organ have big schools is not doesn't work. Your response to that either one of you. maridel well, I I think that bigger is not necessarily better. I think that the most excellent programs in the world do not necessarily mean that there's going to be a better education. I really feel it comes down to the personal level. And yes, you do need programs. And yes, you do need outside structure, but more course offerings and larger schools don't necessarily make for a better education. I believe it. It depends on the commitment of the students and the teachers the parents the administration everyone needs to feel a kind of commitment to what is going on what your experiences that might be concerning that helps a lot when you don't like giving a subject that you might not be able to grab it right away. And I don't think that's something to be opportunities at small school that you might not be able to But I'm the only one of the main reasons I didn't really look at in a large as a run for office yourself then schools and work for for legislators. What do you think about the state policy which seems to be pushing smaller schools towards consolidating in and working with bigger schools and and and just seems like an overall policy that that bigger is better. I'm not really sure. I think I might have is more the way they're going about it then that Sara Lee. Bill pushing. What's my School District operation at the thing was not really coming upfront about it and saying yes, if you don't want to do it right with me. I think I basically want a problem with the way you're doing it and look at doing it's 21 minutes past 12 central time. If you'd like to join our discussion, give us a call here in the Twin ports 7 to 29411 anywhere else. You can hear us one 800-535-1606 someone else with a question or comment where you calling from. Hello, I'm calling from Estill. But I am a former Mountain Iron resident in a graduated Mountain High School. And I was just wondering when the consolidation happened. Why were all three schools left open the the grade school in to high school. If I don't understand where there was a savings in the budget better now is relatively more weddings like 5 or 6 years old and I guess it wasn't too realistic about closing that when they had talked about money problems with which they had for a few years. They realize then that they needed to close when school. What time is it in better? I don't think the reason that all three schools were left open was not Financial. I'm not really sure why things worked out the way they did. They were supposed to close on school, but then the other one was left partially open the plan and then last year they decided just use juul, but then they kept the Attic So you think it was politics or another listener with a commoner question. Go ahead. Please listen to me that I would be more of a factor of class size of a large squirrel that had 20 students per class would be much better than a small school with 40 students per class. I'll hang up and listen to thank you. Okay, I guess I would agree with that. But I think the small schools do have the capacity if they're if the budget situation is is good. They have the capacity to have small classes also and I think that with enlarged testicles I still think we need to look at a kind of building small communities within large goes if we are going to go towards large-schools. I personally feel that small schools do just fine. But your your point is well taken is it is it a matter of the nature of bureaucracies that if you're going to go to larger than and then the tendency is to have larger classroom to the overall schools going to have a thousand kids you more likely to have three kids in each classroom. Do you think I don't know if that's true or not. I don't know that I My experience has been in a small school and I I know in in lean years class sizes went up. I had 30 x 32 33 students and riding classes and in good years. I had I had classes that were 17 18 19 20, so I can't I don't really know about that. I think perhaps what is behind that is the sense of community in a small community and people are more closely tied to the school feel a closer Affinity to it. And I think people just don't want to let go of that how important is that for education in how does a sense of community in a sense of ownership of the school relate to skill levels when it when kids come out of school. well I guess. I guess that isn't necessarily an issue of large or small I think teachers personally affect students live and you know skills. I filled it in a smaller and smaller classroom. It's much easier to give students personal attention. And whether these small classrooms are in small schools are large schools. I think we need to look at that small classrooms as far as skill levels, I think. The students if they are allowed personal attention and special time from the teacher. I think skill levels can improve example. I have a student who has his doing some tutoring and he is a student tutoring a young woman in reading and he feels very strongly that the issue is not reading the issue is self-esteem and the student just need some time and space some special nurturing and in a large classroom. It's probably more difficult to spot those students and to know who really needs your special time in attention. Do we have the small class sizes require money Trend seems to be fewer teachers. Okay. I don't know if it's possible to reverse that Trend. I think that we are going to learn some hard lessons from that again. If I may speak from my own experience. I taught writing for 18 years and in the years when I had a few students in the class, everyone got a lot of personal attention and riding is a very personal kind of of activity eagle gets on the line and all of that kind of stuff and I found that Smaller class sizes allowed me to really work with students more and I think we're going to learn some difficult lessons if we increase class sizes. I think skill levels will go down. Yes, but that's a how do you get that message across to people in the meantime before or do we have to suffer through learning the hard lessons so it when you say learning are less of what do you mean? What it what kind of lessons are we going to learn? Well, we probably will learn that students will not learn as easily in a larger situation I a Tasco. I spoke to some teachers yesterday and I learned it in some situations classes that used to have three sections or down to two sections and these are literature and writing classes and Distance just aren't going to get the attention that they need as far as learning the hard lesson. I think we will learn that. Students are going to get lost in the shuffle skills are going to get lost in the shuffle and human beings are going to get lost in the shuffle and perhaps we'll have to run it first. Then we tend to human beings tend to learn things the hard way so we may have to go through some rough times before we decide that class class sizes do need to go down and we need to increase budgets for more teachers protocol is a professor of education at the College of Saint Scholastica and was Troy Matteson was a freshman at Hamline University to graduate if not hurting View High School topic today is problems and challenges facing small town schools in our region. It's 29 minutes past 12 central time. If you'd like to join our discussion call us June 24th at 7 to 29411 Orwin 800-535-1606. Yes, make a comment. Okay. Alrighty, well had a little problem there much will leave that go back to you again. How much of what happens in a classroom is dependent on policy School Board decisions and legislative decisions. And how much of what happens in the classroom depends on the teacher what happens between a teacher and students one of the of the famous phrases that teachers tell each one each other about teaching is that it's such a marvelous profession because you can close the door and and create a world and I think that that's true that it's creative energizing. It's it's fun, but I also think It is not in a vacuum and classrooms feel pressure from the outside and budget cuts School District pressures find their way into the classroom and they do affects students and teachers. For example, if a if a teacher is overloaded and has 30 students in a class that used to have 20 that add stress that it strain. I think most teachers want to do a good job that cuts down on on the the teachers capacity to do what he or she really really wants to do creativity takes time and temp. Of incubation it take some rest to take some kind of stress free situations once in a while. And so I think the teachers come in stressed feeling not as creative as they would like to feel perhaps not feeling so good about themselves and I think that gets communicated to the students. So I feel that they're outside pressures definitely affect what goes on in the classroom Carlos of how hard to teacher tries to quote unquote create that little world. Another listener with a?, where are you calling from? Either of your participants are familiar with the Carnegie Council on adolescent Development Latest report, which came out in May of 1989 called turning points of operation of American Youth for the 21st century. I heard a person discussing that particular study on Minnesota Public Radio about two months ago. I was very excited about it. And one of the things that was discussed was class size. I have ordered a copy of this study and I'm just looking forward to getting it but are you familiar with it? Either of you is not in your head. Yes. Yes. I am and I think it's a wonderful study and I think it was I believe of a phrase from the book says it pre-adolescence need a great deal of intimacy with the people in their lives. They need to feel is that adults and their lies care about them that their peers care about them and this can be done through smaller communities within a larger school or smaller schools and small classrooms within those schools a very exciting study Troy. What was your experience with class sizes in MIB? Did you feel a difference if you went from one class to another that had different number students in it? I'm basically they were about the same size has 20 24 25 15 to 20 and mm. CenturyLink in Seattle school bus 42 Health as far as personality and it's a good thing, but I'm like I said before I was real. Glad that I had were the family where they were too big to 29411 in the Twin ports or one 800-535-1606 anywhere else in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan 800-535-1606 another lesson with a question go ahead place. Hello. Hello. Yes, go ahead is a former graduates of Virginia Minnesota many many years ago the small school today and if that's those years we probably had like a hundred and twelve and a graduating class. No extended our class reunions. We knew everybody and all the classes ahead of us behind this. I think Arts education was the second to none that anybody in the country and we had excellent course offerings. And again, there's nothing wrong with a simple of course offering of English 12 English 11 intended you didn't have to have 10 different types of English 12 or anything like that are educational is not diminished Annalise. Are you living the twin ports now? Did you see that? What you had in Virginia is missing in the schools here. Definitely. Fifties when the coroner's report came out and if you start making some research analysis of when the test scores throughout our whole country is started to diminish coroner report remembered with the comprehensive school and we've got to get rid of all these small schools and I I just felt like we threw the baby out with the bathwater what can be substituted where bus rides in an hour or two hours everywhere to this big comprehensive school and I talked and I've also been a teacher for you all these years that talking high schools where it's 3,000 in the high school and nobody knows anybody and you have the stealing and you have you don't build any relationships you just that community that she was talking about is not only missing in the classroom, but it's Miss throughout the whole school. Feel so strongly people were so interested in the buck the dollar and trying to think that we're going to officially run these things like a business and education was not be run like a business necessarily. I mean you try to be frugal and every means but you're dealing with a whole different matter and what are you saying? Mr. Ruth Rendell our governor Rudy perfect. You say we've got to be able to compete with the Japanese and the Germans who have high technical skills and who are trained in a lot of a lot of academic areas where we are very lacking in this country and we can still do that. But that's not that we've been trying to do it this way for 20 years and that's why we've lost it's just your you have to go back to having a decent standards in the classroom, which have gone downhill and when Rudy perpich wants his options. What I see happened in the large school, if kids don't like a teacher or so before they know they can transfer to another teacher in a small school. You didn't have that option you finally learn to live with each teacher and the teacher had some the same students year after year to the other course is so everybody knew each other and there's a bond of trust and confidence that the billed now if the child doesn't think they're going to get a high enough grade in this class to transfer to another class and you can have the same thing. I believe in schools pay this cool over here. They give 70% A's and B's I want my kid to go. That's cool. What are the schools going to do? Are we going to go further and Play Grey's just to track Personnel. I'm a student from when this gentleman's opinion. TriMet, oh well. I guess it will go back to my same old same I think that education involves more than competing with the Japanese that may be a part of it. But I think it also involves the idea of the whole human being and people developing their skills to communicate and connect with other human beings and within that kind of community we can build on skills such as reading and writing and and Science and Math are those I'm not trying to say those are not important, but I think we need to have an environment in which people feel safe to learn and environment in which people can be encouraged to learn and if we are throwing out that environment, I'm not sure about the end result as far as skill development or there's only so many hours a day. Is it possible to continue to create an environment and get to the skill levels to where they need to be or you know, what do we have to just decide? Oh, okay. We're going to sacrifice this and favor that well. I have personal belief on that and that is that if the environment is is there that the skills will follow again I go back to Virginia satirist quote people will only learn when they are feeling when they are valuing themselves and feeling valued and when I feel we need to create an environment of a community of caring and valuing a nurturing self-esteem and then within that we work with skill and if we aren't in increasing class size because of budget problems, then we're doing something something to that environment. We're doing something to that sense of community and I'm afraid that skill levels. Won't necessarily be there. So you think you have to do the one to be able to accomplish the other you have the environment to be able to have the ability to achieve the Disco I think so, I have coarse the idealist simultaneous. It's very rare to have extracurricular activities and don't have school soccer teams in school basketball teams, then they go to school all day long and then go through the summer and this that you know that they achieve a lot of Engineers are they able to accomplish that if they don't put the same sort of emphasis on human development and Community Development and that seems to be a Value Inn in our Midwestern schools. Supposedly one of the underpinnings of American Education that we put a great deal of value on human development and perhaps it's not a question of competing with your about competing with with Japan. That's we need to look at ourselves and ask ourselves what we are trying to accomplish and ask ourselves whether we are indeed accomplishing it granted. I understand, you know, the world is a competitive place, but I think we need to be asking ourselves and doing a great deal of soul-searching about who we really are and what we want to do and then evaluating ourselves on that. So we have to decide what our values are first before we get started. Yes, I think so. We're talking with Myrtle call Professor of education and was Troy Matteson former president of the student council mountain iron-buhl high schools now freshman at Hamline University in Saint Paul, and we're discussing education in the small schools around our region. It's about 18 minutes before 1 Central Time 18 before 2 eastern time. If you'd like to join our discussion call us at one 800-535-1606 outside of the twin ports and in Duluth superior. You can call us at 722-9411 or listener with the question. Where are you calling from? Hello. Hello. Are you there? Hello. Yes, go ahead and go to schools obviously depends on budgets and a disproportionate amount of money seems to have traditionally done in two sports by that. I mean making a handful of the giving a handful of students the opportunity to play on the football team basketball team hockey team Etc at the expense of the rest of the student body. Now the thing that's important about sports and physical exercise and it seems to me we have to throw out those teams and begin and intramural sports program in the schools. So that all kids regardless of expertise and ATS athletic ability can participate there by we are giving them what is necessary in terms of Physical education requirements which is pretty dismal a pretty dismal offering in most schools these days and I'm sure intramural program would cost less than the program that exists in school in school now practical to do away with sports team soon. No one gets cut which is what's a good time and I guess he's with open enrollment now. Are some parents and students going to go to school just because of their important and I have small school. Usually I think it's real good time to have a boyfriend. Do you think what do you think Myrtle of a proposal of doing away with Varsity Sports focusing any rule putting the money back into academics? Well, would you do that if you were in charge of the school if I ran the school, huh? I don't really know. I I guess I feel that you know sports are important. I personally prefer personally I prefer intramurals but I don't know if I would do that. I think a lot of that depends on where the communities values are and if that Community value Sports then perhaps that's where the community can make those choices personally. I guess I probably would go with intramurals. Where are you calling from Hello, and I guess we would agree of very highly with the small classes and Good idea, and that assumes that that the relationship between teacher and student extends beyond the classroom and out into the community standards and ethical behavior Can the community expect from their teachers. If in fact, this is a situation that ideally this relationship in the community and the mentorship and and kind of model role will be there for the student tonight. I suspect that we should be able to expect him some kinds of standards. And so are you suggesting that the teacher should perhaps be held to some higher standards than other people because of their they're performing as Role Models marital call you teach teachers. What do you think about that contact? Well, I don't necessarily know what you mean by higher standards has as far as role models in my classrooms. I stress that my students get to know themselves that they have a very healthy kind of self-knowledge a healthy kind of self-searching that they become very familiar with what their issues are as far as their life issues as far as their prejudices as far as what they value and what they feel. It is important to them. I think that's very ethical to to know yourself and to know what is important to you and I guess in my classrooms with teachers, that's what I stress more of an internal model of getting to know yourself. Perhaps as opposed to a living up to some kind of external expectations. How much did you look to teachers as Role Models where we're all teachers all models you just some Annie. one of the few I guess everyone has a few favorite teachers and her that type of thing. Basically the one that looked almost wild research was my history in my Empire look up to him because he was teaching and was real excited about the things that I was interested in earning statement showing up around in the world. Socially politically important that I looked up to you because you are a biology teacher that much but we talked and some of things to talk about. We're really important. To politics and government and social awareness method is more than person in the subject matter. It was more the person in the subject matter what time and we're talking about small school education in our region with the comment or question. Where are you calling from? Hello. Yes, go ahead. To one of the important points that have been left out in this discussion and that's the funding of schools in general. It doesn't matter. If you live in a small school district or a large school district. What you have now is the declining tax-based. You have an older population demographic least that is with the floor student population yet. You have the same facilities in the same places that you have to offer and when you have Bond referendum to replace the facilities or to improve the facilities because of all the time has come for them to be replaced and to support the school in just me and his cause you do not get any money. In other words. I think our education is suffering because we are not willing to support and its forthcoming. We just had a bond referendum and McGregor. Send a message to Ruth and that was the spring and that's a large school district in that were soundly defeated the messages. We are getting from the general public is they will not support education. So what are you going to do in light of that that that. That wasn't what do you think? Cut collar. Are you still there? Very very thorough General assessment of how the monies are being spent. I think everyone has to really consider all the programs that are currently being offered including extracurricular including Athletics, including all the basics in the singer. We are going to a technological Revolution and what we have to do is address the needs of society and that's where it works for going into. I mean we can teach just the basics. We also have to teach these technical courses that are necessary in order to be a citizen with a reasonable ability to get a job and these requires requires a lot of changes within school district and it requires money too. So I think there has to be a very thorough study of what is a good school system. And what amount of money is necessary and what are some of the things we don't need anymore and what are some of the things we do need? Here's his me to wish you was right there. One is as we talked about that earlier about examining what are their values? And and where do we where do we want to head? The other is and a social or political attitude seems like at least this caller tunes me indicating that he feels there just isn't the political and social will any more to support schools in the manner in which they need to be supported. What do what are your opinions about that Troy about the values in the overlap and ThinkPad all over the state schools are passing huge things are so bad and my people found things had him that as the last resort unfortunately. Can go that way three times prior, but I don't think that's so bad. The reason that was the way it was because of all the school districts. It's 6 minutes before 1 central time and we were visiting with Myrtle call and Troy Matteson about problems and challenges facing small school districts in our region. If you like to join us call us at 722-9411 here in the Twin ports anywhere else. You can hear us in Minnesota, Wisconsin to Michigan toll-free, 1-800 535 1606 another listening with a question or comment go ahead please I'm calling from a school and as a parent I've we've had five children going to the school here and we moved from a large District in Duluth. And we have found that the small school has been good for our children because the teachers do get to know not only the children but the family is well and I have found as mrs. Call Mansion the importance of the students feeling good about themselves before they can learn well, and I I think that's really very important the students self-esteem has Be there and then they're willing and ready to learn and I think you find out a lot more in a small school setting them we found in a large system. And also I think as was mentioned in the sporting program. I know my sons would not have played on teams in the Duluth schools, but out here because there are fewer kids as Sam is a Troy had said from his school. All the kids get to play that go out for the sports. They may not play as frequently, but they do get to play and I know my sons have enjoyed that and I think sports are important because it brings the community together. Also, I know here in a school. We are a very strong sports-minded Community as well as parents who want a good education for our children, and I know my school if it were to close it would really hurt this community family. And when you go to something in our school, you will find that are open houses are very well attended. Our sporting events are very well attended. What do you see as the future for us was we heard about escrow schools at the beginning of the hour. What do you think is going to happen and they going to have to close to think eventually it doesn't look real promising down the road. I'm thankful that I have a daughter that's a senior and then One more child to finish but I know from this past year that the parents will put up a fight. They aren't going to sit back and just let it close in front of their face and other parents here are very strong unit and we will fight to keep our school open and how hard people are willing to fight but also it seems as though a lot of future is going to depend on some some higher levels of government or politics. Let me ask you this is me more minutes left is a marital. Is there a policy from state government that can ensure academic excellence and a sense of community in the school is is there something that large units the government can do or is it really just up to everybody in the classroom? I feel that it's it is up to individual people and I filled it. Change can happen in in many different ways and in do you need the large in the big but you also need small and change can happen in one person at a time one step at a time one person affecting another person affecting another person. So I think at the same time that we may have large governmental policies. We really need to be working at the level of person to person and I think that change happens that way also how much are do you see the possibility of any kind of policy that's going to ensure the survival of small schools and retain academic excellence. Oh, I think it's talking about. I have faith that that things can be worked out. But what happened to the meantime really scares me? and other things that happened in my being a friend and they have two outer but the rift locations where he played 20 years on friendship and I went down the drain because of the building issue and I'm not really sure. Hopefully you don't think you'll be able to be worked out. But what do you think is going to happen? I hope not but I think you know if it was open enrollment and I see what happened. I might be maybe not in great numbers. Hopefully not happening elsewhere Middle School University in 89 graduate of MIB. We thank you for joining us Myrtle call from the College of Saint Scholastica. Thank you too for being with us. And we thank our callers. And also thanks to Jana Carter and Bridget down a little help with getting this production on the air and Joe Kelly in the Twin ports, and this is midday on Minnesota Public Radio.