LCSD Patrons,
Just talked to a Representative on the committee. He said the personal emails that are coming from our parents and staff have been very effective. Stay away from form emails. Make it personal. How does this issue effective you and your family? Keep the emails coming!!
More Examples of Emails to Legislators
I am writing to you on behalf of SB 2328. I am a parent, teacher, stakeholder, and alumna of the Lewis and Clark School District. I graduated from the old North Shore High School which was located in Makoti, North Dakota. North Shore was one of the schools that is no longer open due to the fact that our district consolidated schools. We once consisted of four schools in our district and now consist of two schools. One building, each located on the north and south ends of our district. These buildings are 30 miles apart. Many might say, “When you lose your school, you lose your town.” Even though this was a fear for our communities, our school district still moved forward trying to make the most fiscally responsible decision for our state. Now, we are facing a cutback in funding, which I feel would be detrimental to not only our school but the students we serve.
Advocating for my students is a passion of mine; I am pleading with you to not overlook our small population of students in the Lewis and Clark District. I am afraid if funding is cut, our students in both Plaza and Berthold will be affected in a negative way. I am sure you agree, the education of all the North Dakota students matters, regardless of where they live. I have so many worries if our funding is cut. One of these worries is a reality for many small schools. How can small schools, whose funding is being cut, compete with larger schools that can offer a more substantial salary to retain and recruit teachers? Finding and retaining teachers is already a difficult task for small schools, please do not make it even more difficult by cutting our budget. Quality educators are the backbone of student education. What does a student do who loves and wants to learn more about mechanics, physics, agriculture, etc., but doesn’t have a teacher or a program in their school to build knowledge in these areas? They miss out and are unable to fulfill their passion. This is a disservice to our youth in North Dakota.
I urge you to vote yes on SB 2328 to reflect a funding formula to match our two small schools, not one school district. This will ensure students in our school district have an opportunity to be educated equitably and fairly.
I am writing today to ask that you consider voting in favor of SB 2328 as it was originally written. The proposed one-time payment by the committee falls short of addressing our budgetary deficit adequately. Consequently, it only serves as a temporary remedy for a complex problem. With the urgency of the matter at hand and considering that the Senate has already ratified a resolution, waiting for two years for the funding formula to be revised is not a viable option.
Several years ago, the consolidation of three school districts led to the formation of the Lewis and Clark School District. As a result, the total number of schools was reduced from four to two, expanding the district's coverage to encompass 875 square miles. The two remaining K-12 buildings are situated 30 miles apart. Given the geographical constraints and the vastness of the district, it is not viable to consolidate the facilities into one building or separate them into distinct high school and elementary school structures. Students residing at the farthest northern or southern borders of the district might be required to traverse a distance of up to 60 miles, which is highly impractical.
If the committee feels that examining the funding formula is the best option, please consider granting the schools the full amount of funds to keep them operating at their current level. Our organization is currently operating efficiently and a budget deficit would necessitate staff reductions, which would substantially impact our ability to offer a comprehensive range of elective courses and services to our students.
We thank you for taking our concerns into account and look forward to further collaborative efforts toward enhancing the academic welfare of our pupils.
Dear Education Committee Members,
This letter is regarding senate bill 2328. I am writing as a lifelong member of the Plaza community, a teacher, a parent, and former student of Plaza and North Shore Schools. I am fully invested in our community and school district. Lewis and Clark School District has two separate K-12 buildings that are thirty miles apart. Our district shares teachers, staff members, and equipment to be fiscally responsible. Working in this school district is highly rewarding. We get to know our students personally, their families, and create this incredible bond during the education process. It is rare, but extremely gratifying to be a part of a student’s education from kindergarten to high school graduation. Rural schools in North Dakota have that happen every day.
In the past (2003), when the Lewis and Clark School District was consolidated, it was recommended and supposed to be beneficial for our schools to run more efficiently and give students better educational opportunities. I feel very strongly that our students will not have the opportunities that every student should have during their educational career if we are not funded correctly. It will be detrimental to the students in our schools. Lewis and Clark School District needs to be funded as two separate school buildings because of our distance. We do not function the same as other districts, because of the two K-12 schools thirty miles apart. We are only asking for the funding that we are provided to be fair and equitable. Please consider that the students I am teaching and the children I am raising are just as important to have opportunities in their education that are equivalent to all students in North Dakota.
I am writing to you in support of SB 2328. If this bill does not pass, our school will not be able to provide a fair and equitable education. Failure to pass the bill, will undoubtedly lead to cuts that would negatively impact our students' learning/experiences.
We have been compliant with the state initiative to consolidate, bringing 3 districts together. We also closed two buildings (Ryder & Makoti) to be fiscally responsible, leaving us with two kindergarten- twelfth grade schools 30 miles apart. Due to this distance ,we operate as two small independent schools. Under this proposed formula, we are being treated the same as a smaller school district. Our school district is 864 square miles. We're being treated the same as school districts that are under 250 square miles. This does not account for our two building costs, bussing, and staff for each building.
An argument could be made that we could dissolve our recent consolidation, but that would be counter intuitive to what the state was asking of us. Also, the idea of splitting our two schools up into a high school and then an elementary school would not work with the vast size of our district. Some students would be on the bus for up to two hours one way, which is not realistic.
Yes, schools like more funding, but we are not asking for “more” funding, we are only asking to be properly funded. I urge you to thoroughly look at the weighting factor adjustments this bill proposes and vote yes on SB 2328.
Senate Bill 2328 is in front of you for consideration and as a parent of children in the Lewis and Clark School District, a landowner/taxpayer in the District, a constituent, a school employee and a life-long member of the Plaza community I urge you to pass this bill as it is written! We need to allow this school district to continue the important work of educating our kids in the high quality, efficient way that only adequate funding will allow.
We have a strong school, with very invested staff and community members working hard to offer our kids all the opportunities they deserve despite the challenges of being a very large (875 acres), yet very rural school district. We are no stranger to being creative, sharing resources, doing more with less and the need to adapt when things change. When the state incentivized consolidating years ago we joined together, closed buildings and made difficult decisions to make things work. Now it feels as though we are being penalized for doing what was asked of us.
When school buildings are 30 miles apart, the options for efficiency are simply not the same as schools much closer together. And as a parent, the idea of having to send my children on a bus for over an hour each way every day or to another district is unthinkable when we have a very well functioning, efficient school operating right here in our community right now with over 200 students attending.
We need SB 2328 passed as is, not watered down or changed to a temporary band aid solution. Our kids and our communities deserve fair and equitable treatment, which includes a permanent solution to this funding issue as written in this bill. Our students deserve a “Do Pass” and appreciate your time and attention to this matter that will greatly impact their future.