On behalf of Hutchinson Public Schools, in response to the letter to the editor titled “Vote no on the $28.8M school referendum” published in the Wednesday, Oct. 23, issue of the Leader, I would like to provide factual corrections to the untrue statements.
The letter said: “The Hutchinson Leader reported in June that for the third year in a row that enrollment is continuing to decline in the Hutchinson Public Schools. This directly undermines the reason for this increased spending.”
Correction: The enrollment in Hutchinson Public Schools has declined in the past few years and we expect enrollment to slightly decline in future years. The district has never made claims or statements about needing more space due to increasing student enrollment. The purpose of the bond referendum is to address the adequacy of the facilities and educational spaces.
Park Elementary was built in 1938. It is reasonable to make investments in this building so the community is able to continue to use it into the future for educational purposes. Additionally, the state Legislature approved funding for All Day Every Day Kindergarten in 2014. The district implemented this program at West Elementary without any additional space. All Day Every Day Kindergarten required twice as much space for our kindergarten students as previously needed. This program addition has limited the space available for Early Childhood Special Education and our established school readiness and preschool education programs.
Our Early Childhood Family Education program operates in a small building that was supposed to be temporary but has been serving the District for more than 25 years. The referendum will incorporate ECFE into West Elementary, providing expanded and updated educational space for this program.
The letter said: “I have heard from many they are concerned about this bond referendum expanding the school into day care from birth to kindergarten. Many are concerned about our tax dollars enabling the school to go into competition against many excellent Christian-based and privately operated care facilities in the Hutchinson area.
“What about the ongoing operating costs for running a pre-kindergarten day care facility?”
Correction: Hutchinson Public Schools is not going into the day care business. The district works collaboratively with our local day care and preschool providers and has been very intentional about not competing with private businesses.
The letter said: “Minnesota Administrative Rule 9503.0040 requires a minimum staff ratio of 1 to 4 infants and 1 to 7 for toddlers. This suggests a significant increase in staff will be needed. What are the projected costs to pay for these additional staff? Aren’t these full-time union positions? Or will this be an additional future ‘surprise’ referendum request for Hutchinson ISD 423?”
Correction: Again, Hutchinson Public Schools is not going into the day care business. The district does offer classes for parents and children from birth-5 years old through ECFE programming, as it has for the past 33 years. Lastly, all school districts in Minnesota have extensive statutory reporting, publishing and informational obligations in regard to bond and levy referendum elections. There is no such thing as a “surprise” referendum.
