Elections ’11: Jim Mitchell, Candidate for Dist 428 Board of Education

I dig Jim. He called out some pretty blatant equity issues when the middle school jazz bands in the DeKalb music program were on the fiscal chopping block. Given that I still coach one of those bands today and my students are some of the top players in our IMEA district, my appreciation for him still stands. Thanks buddy.

Hi Jim.

I certainly wouldn’t presume to speak for Lynn as she is eloquently poignant in her own right however you may have missed you window by dashing off on Thursday. She was there as she typically is with most public events. As was I, the “pain” or as I would have thought you would have appreciated “thorn” to quote you.

I will never overlook the moxie one must have to put themselves in the crosshairs of the public by stepping up to the plate. Moreover when that position is not compensated for which implies it is accepted as a simple matter of civic duty. My kudos to you for taking the baton for 8 years. That having been said, I’m at a complete loss as to your rhetoric on Thursday. It may indeed be the first time Caddy Shack has ever been quoted in a political pitch to say nothing of someone running for a position that governs over the academic future of my kids. Really Jim, “the world needs ditch diggers too”?? We live in an environment where manufacturing jobs are disappearing in droves and we’re apt to become a serviced based society far sooner than anyone could have conceived. While I agree that there will always be a need for vocational training I find it short sighted and appalling that a when asked if 428 students should be prepared for college your response was blatantly “NO” based on the fact that academically not every student will want or desire to seek secondary education. I defy you to show me that someone entering the 9th grade has the capacity to make that call. It is our collective duty to push every student to their highest potential. If and only then should they decide or be so inclined to make the decision to follow their bliss which may indeed not be higher education can we say that we have at the very least wedged our foot in the door gifting them with an avenue to all paths.

Furthermore, with a complete collapse of the absurdly inflated statistics that were offered as a selling tool for our last referendum coupled with an economic vacuum you offer a second referendum as your first choice to bandage our gap. (Please see Ivan’s brass tacks account of how the debt will be redistributed to make up for the shortfall of those errant calculations) 1,000 + homes are on the market or in the process or foreclosure and yet you, like so many offer increased taxes as your solution to spackle over what Tracy keenly pointed out is a 2% shortfall. To you and every other candidate running this year I pose the question, how much is enough? When to we, as a community become so unattractive due to our grossly overinflated taxes complimented with our mediocre academic performance become Detroit or East St. Louis? A destination leapfrogged over by would be citizens in light of greener pastures? After spending some one million plus on lights and bleachers one of your first suggestions was to cut athletics. At the end of the day, I covet a quality education for my kid’s that allows them to pursue their hearts desire but I’m seeing a serious disconnect.

Perhaps I overlooked something, but barring a few comments not once did I hear anyone suggest that the 21 million go back to paying down the bond debt and relieving home owners of their burden. We all love our kids and in our heart of hearts want them to have the academic world as their oyster. However it appears to me there are only few who wish to acknowledge the melt down in our own back yard. If this course persists, I will gladly encourage my kids to scatter to the four winds the moment the chance arises. Ask yourselves if exorbitant fees, empty classrooms, diminished offerings, homogenized curriculum settings, near capacity student to teacher ratios, a HS that lacks the simple ability to expand and an ugly tax rate are what you signed up for?

With all due respect, and undue in some cases I indeed have a right to comment Jim. As does everyone that pays some 70+ percent of their property, sales and business taxes to our educational system. In short, the people I vote for will have a sharp pencil, conservative but realistic optimism and the ability to treat the district checkbook as if it were my own. Because it is.

These aren’t lies nor innuendo. These are facts. If our system is broken then explain to me how we arrived here after your eight year tenure? The echo you hear is from vacant houses and classrooms. Hopefully that won’t be our eternity. That “rock” I’m moving is you and it starts with a pen stroke come April. I thank you for our service but it’s time to move on.

That we the current board don’t know what we are doing and that the current administration is paid too much, and are incompetent. One of these days I would like to meet you Lynn. Please introduce yourself at one of these public forums.

Sorry about that Mac it is Max being the pain of the day. And while we are talking about these things and how much people serve the community, how much is enough? I chastise those who don’t have a clue what I do., and you won’t know till you get in the belly with me. Seems to me these are a lot of small , angry people out there who just can’t get it right . You can holler all you want from the audience, but what good does it do? Stop being angry people , its bad for your soul and even worse for the community we all live in.
Do yourselves a favor and stop listening to the fringe folks because they are wrong. They are poisoning this community with their lies and innuendo. They take things out of context and run their own smear campaign to attempt to get good solid people out of office because of their own misguided ideals. You can continue and maybe make a difference, but in the long run you are messing up the lives of everyone, including yourself.
Our system is broke , and I can’t fix it from the street . I can fix anything with the right tools, but I can’t do it alone. I have some very good friends that I know can complete the task. There is so much this board has done that is hard to see , but will echo for an eternity.

Well gee MAC I guess u have my number. paying your taxes gives you the right to vote. Paying your taxes gives you the right to complain. So keep it up folks, that’s a big rock to push from your side. As a famous doctor said “you just don’t get it do you?”

I hope every voter reads this thread. Thank you for summarizing the issues so concisely Ivan and to you, Kerry and Lynn I applaud you for taking Jim to task. As illustrated, this “dead horse” is anything but and more if a herald of things to come which isn’t pretty. Each of the three of you (Kerry, Ivan, Lynn) have served the community in your own capacity however frankly, I’m sick of elected officials stating that if you don’t “get involved” you don’t have a right to an opinion. By virtue of my 6k+ a year in property taxes you bet I do. As well as everyone else in this community and those opinions Mr. Mitchell, will resonate at the in the polls. I think you should consider this before you’re so quick to dismiss and shuffle off issues that we care about.

Well gee Lynn I stand corrected, good for you that you tried.

Ivan and others- you make some fine points, and yes a lot does go on behind doors, in closed session though we are forbidden by law to vote on ANYTHING. If you want to know what goes on behind closed doors, 1) run for board 2) get elected 3) show up.

Problem with being on boards and councils Jim is the “unwritten rule” you and other elected officials seem to live by and that would be, what goes on and how things are voted on behind closed doors stays behind closed doors. You know you made that comment to me as we finished the process of selecting a General Contractor for the new high school. I told you after you made that comment that I did not ever agree to that policy and would not.

Also Jim, stepping up to sit on and be part of the school districts Facilities Planning Committee showed me just how much most of what the school board and its administration does “for public show” is a farce. The “recommendation” from the FPC was purely a grandstanding as every major vote taken for direction of the new high school flooded with staff, school board members, and pre-referendum FPC members who were very much responsible for the misinformation given to well intentioned votersi. Misinformation such as miscalculations to growth due to false information supplied to the districts own demographer who when given much more factual information not even two months after the referendum showed a much more dismal growth plan in fact an evening out to loss of enrollment within the district.

You Jim as a member of the “elected” school board along with school board President, Mike Verbic and others refused to responsibly act on this information. The FPC is nothing but a scapegoat for the school board and the administration. It is there so you and other school board members can shirk your responsibilities as an elected official by saying that you are or were merely voting on a recommendation from an advisory committee of “local citizens”.

To beat a dead horse Jim? It is only perceived a dead horse because you say it is. I believe the horse is alive and still strong enough to run a derby or two. You are currently a member of a school board that allowed for the building of the new high school to get out of control. This school could have been built in a much smarter way. Additions of classrooms could have always been added when local growth supported it. The fact alone that Districts 428’s own numbers show enrollment at the high school sliding backwards is enough proof. Great Jim, DeKalb/Malta/Cortland get to open up a new high facility with a core for 3,000 students and class capacity for 2,800 (FPC recommended 2,500 – myself and Mac recommended 2,000 to 2,200 allowing for future expansion). When the new high school opens this fall, nearly HALF (50%) of the potential classroom space will be empty and lolcal housing growth is at a virtual standstill and over 1,100 homes are currently empty thus. This is also important to remind people because important revenue numbers used by you and other board member to vote for this school. Sharp drops in property tax, less students to pay fees, less students for important state dollars, and a negative EAV. This community cannot afford the original bond repayment plan as presented without major increases in property taxes, fees, and closing of neighborhood grade schools along with increasing class size and the cutting of teachers and suppport staff. Would have been nice to see you support using the $21.6 million state grant to pay done referendum bond debt but that’s not happening.

Clock in foyer was to be sponsored by local donations (now taxpayers are paying for), do we really need to spend over $100,000.00 for a Steinway grand piano for this new school? The football field was to be grass but now artificial turf (life span will be 8 years, not 30 with replacement cost approaching $750,000.00). Lights and bleachers will cost in access if $1.3 million. Voters were told and promised by administration and board president during campaign and promoting of referendum that NO taxpayer dollars would be used for these items as local sponsors and donations would be raised. ALL dollars are coming fcrom the taxpayers pocket Jim. Remember this to readers, for every dollar of borrowed money used, this community thus the taxpayer will pay back $3.00 FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT and don’t even believe that admission fees charged will come close to covering expenses of home games and concessions WILL NOT go to help pay down any of the bond. Those dollars will go to the group(s) working the concession stand that evening.

I will state make this public statement, the new high school is beautiful. I doubt there is an administrator, teacher, A.D., coach, or student anywhere in the world who wouldn’t be excited about the new facilty. WOW is probably more like it but the time is coming that this shopping cart the school board and athletic department has been pushing around the store for the past year plus to be checked out at the cash register. I don’t care what the credit line is on the credit card the school district is using Jim, the local community will not be able to make the monthly charges without big sacrifices. Heck, the district cannot even afford to properly staff this new school with the proper amount of custodial employees. Is this how you and other current school board members plan to protect this major investment or will this school be allowed to be run down like all of the other district schools?

To be honest Jim, you do not deserve to be reelected at all but many in this community will remember that you were a major part of allowing this to happen. It is one “dead horse” I plan to keep beating. I, along with many others thought this new high school was about classrooms and education. It looks an awful like emphasis was athletics Jim. Tell me this Jim, when the new school board starts cutting programs due to budgetary shortfalls, will it be math, science, and english programs cut or athletics?

Ivan served on the Facilities Planning Committee.

Kerry serves on the Citizens Financial Advisory Council (CFAC).

Lynn’s name was on a ballot for Mayor of DeKalb.

and to all three of you “commentors” I have yet to see any of your names on a ballot. If you think the world is so bad, run for office and quit your bellyaching in protest. i challenge you all to get inside the belly of the beast before you chastise any of us.

Did Jim really say and to being “the lesser of two evils”. Goes back to my suggested comments on Holly Wallce’s candidate bio here on DeKalb County Online. Definitely an interesting choice for voters this election.

Mr. Mitchell,

Could you please put up your resume here or link to a separate website? Your comments on working with multi-million dollar corporations have me wanting to see specific examples of what you have done. Thanks.

Mr. Mitchell, if you really were a thorn in admin’s side, you’d be able to advertise yourself as way better than the lesser of two evils.

But let’s go with that. Please give us a few examples of your gettin’ your thorn on. And how about describing, say, the last 3 times when you voted against the majority (and when, so we can go read about these courageous stands).