I received this email today from Robbinsdale Schools, addressed from Stan Mack. We took the liberty of linking to factual data from his words…
Election Day is tomorrow! I appreciate that you have taken the time to understand our refrendum issues and that you share your views with other members of the community.
There has been a huge amount of information about the referendum. I hope you will remember just a few things and share with those you know:
– Investing in the quality of local public schools is essential if we are to maintain a safe, thriving, vibrant community.
– If both questions pass, the school district will reduce class sizes by rehiring up to 40 teachers, and restore programs and after-school activities that have been cut.
– Don’t be swayed by any last minute confusing smear tactics like last year’s vote “no” postcard and illegal automated telephone calls.
As always, go to the school district website a [sic] http://www.rdale.org for more information. A new button has been added to address Last Minute Refrendum [sic] Frequently Asked Questions.
We’ll provide election results to you on Wednesday, with an Extra e-mail to Key Communicators.
Please vote on November 4!
Thank you,Stan F. Mack II
Superintendent of Schools
In other words:
- Be good little adults and don’t behave badly by voting no.
- Do not seek facts elsewhere. Trust our propaganda.
- Don’t listen to any phone calls with a dissenting opinion. Listen only to us, not those “illegal” calls by groups like 281 CARE.
This guy’s contract can’t end soon enough. Send Mack another message: we are legally allowed to listen to opposing views, and to vote no. And we will.
PS: For misspelling twice in one paragraph, Stan gets a C- for spelling, and an F for falsehoods. Yes, we still believe in the old school grading system!
Tags: 281 referendum, Stan Mack
281 Exposed 
November 4, 2008 at 12:11 am |
If Stan Mack was your major barrier to vote no, you now have no excuse to not help out our children and send them a positive message: We care about you! We want you to have workable-sized classrooms. We want you to have choir, band, orchestra and art. We want our homes values to increase and we want great schools. So I am voting yes for you, kids!
November 4, 2008 at 12:19 am |
The MN statute specifically makes robo calls that are not preceded by a live human operator illegal.
November 4, 2008 at 12:27 am |
Yes…I got my robo call from Ron and it wasn’t preceded by a live human voice! Can you believe it! WE are 281 CARE and we don’t have to follow the rules. I smell illegal activity!
November 4, 2008 at 12:32 am |
That would make most political ads we’re getting illegal.
Guess how much Yes 281 paid for phone bank snacks, wristbands, Sun Post ads, t shirts and mailings this past month?
$23,638.
That would have paid for a lot of choir robes and sheet music, no?
VOTE NO.
November 4, 2008 at 3:22 am |
So 281 Exposed, are you letting folks comment on your blog yet? Or are you continuing the smear campaign with no option for folks like me to give opposing views?
As always, give2attain is open to all viewpoints…
Is your viewpoint really that weak that it can stand the light of some comments? or questions?
I am happy to participate on your blog whenever you feel confident enough in your opinion to lift the censorship…
November 4, 2008 at 3:41 am |
281 Exposed, I am impressed and apologize, it appears you have opened for comments.
So, I have spent a lot of time on Speed Gibson and Freedom Dogs discussing the referendum with a handful of folks with similar and opposing views. This is an incredibly complex topic.
I guess my only questions are:
– Other than for folks to vote no and Stan/Patsy to leave.
– What do you want the school district to change?
– What is your vision for our community and schools?
I currently have no idea regarding these, unless I have been having dialog with you under a different name. Look forward to hearing from you.
November 4, 2008 at 3:35 pm |
Make sure you link over to Speed Gibson and SD45 websites. Speed is against robocalls and supports the referendum. SD 45 is taking no stance on the referendum. Hmmmm….I think people understand that much is at stake here despite the negative rhetoric this site and Mr. Stoffel /Mr. Jones express. Thanks to all who support our schools and our children.
November 4, 2008 at 5:22 pm |
Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers donated $7,500 this summer, and $17,500 this past month to Yes 281, according to their latest campaign finance report.
Union money goes to Yes 281, who asks you for more of your tax dollars through a referendum effort.
Why didn’t they just donate that to RAS for after school programs?
VOTE NO.
November 4, 2008 at 5:50 pm |
Hi 281 Exposed,
I see the $7,500 on 9/29/08 in the , however no sign of the $17,500 in October on the funding document I have. Maybe it came in later.
As for your question, let me use myself as an example. My wife and I gave hundreds of dollars, and I gave 100+ hours to get the message out to the community regarding the school district and kids current situation. (good bad & ugly)
I could have given the money and time to ZLE and PMS as usual, however the return on my investment would have been very small and I would have helped very few students. So instead I invested the money in helping voters better understand the situation, in hopes that they will vote yes and start volunteering more. Thereby helping more kids than I can alone.
I believe this is why the Teacher’s Union donated to YES281 instead of giving it to the district.
November 5, 2008 at 6:53 am |
I hope you can now get over your disagreement with the district and channel your energies to help our kids. It is now up to the board to make certain these new monies are used to really help. Everyone must be accountable. And the parents of 281 can now move on to do just that instead of spending hundreds of hours just to get a referendum passed.
November 6, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
Congratulations Commies! You have supplanted yourselves even deeper into our limited income pockets.
When is the last time you and your precious little raggamuffins have lifted a finger to help the seniors in your neighborhood? When is the last time you visitied a senior just to offer them company? When is the last time you checked on your senior neighbors to see if they need anything from the store? When is the last time your little raggamuffins raked the leaves from the lawns of your senior neighbors? Helped them plant flowers? Offered to water the lawn? Shoveled snow? I’ll bet the answer is never. You are selfish and greedy people who want society to pay your freight. You offer nothing in return except scare tactics.
November 6, 2008 at 2:47 pm |
Hi Mary,
I agree that people should volunteer and help others in the community more. Both to help the young and old.
Now as to who pays, I think we disagree. ~$10,000 per student or ~$600/household seems like a bargain compared to what I pay for public funded assisted living, medications, soc. security, etc. My company and I cough up ~$14,000/yr for me alone through only our SS and Medicare payments.
I hope I get to see some of it someday, however til then it is just the cost of being a citizen and supporting those in need.
Just a different perspective.
November 6, 2008 at 2:56 pm |
281 Exposed,
Since I agreed to not tag your blog, would you please have your readers forward any improvement ideas via comments on my site or emails to me.
I am still concerned about the rift in our community regarding the public schools and would like to collect some of the improvement ideas, combine them and present them to the public/board….
My personal focus will be researching methods for improving financial transparency and communication of priorities.
If we work together, things can improve.
November 6, 2008 at 4:22 pm |
Mary Jane…
I didn’t know how bitter you really were until now. I am so glad people such as yourselves didn’t railroad the referendum. To call all kids ragamuffins is very mean spirited. Do undertand how much volunteer work was done to help the entire community to get this passed? Don’t you think it is much easeir to just sit there and do nothing? And as far as help for seniors, my 10 year old daughter and son were just at a senior home volunteering.
November 6, 2008 at 7:15 pm |
All..
Ironically, my youngest daughter’s girl scout troop just visited a nursing home last week, and my oldest did 3 day long church outings where they worked on older folk’s home.
However Mary.. is right, more volunteerism will only strengthen our community, build trust and bring it together. This works both ways, younger folks helping older and older helping younger.
281Careless… Thanks
November 8, 2008 at 4:52 am |
G2G: Not sure why you dragged Medicare into the discussion, but since you did, I’ll let you know that I too, am opposed to that tax payer funded boondoggle.
My employer doesn’t pick up the tab for my medical expenses so I pay my doctor bills and any meds I need out of pocket. It sickens me when I go in for a service and bear witness to obese seniors who present their Medicare cards and are very demanding that their whims are catered to – Now!
Ever see those creepy ads on TV that claim you can get a “free” transport chair with wheels and reiterate, “it won’t cost you a penny”? What those ads fail to mention is that someone does pick up the tab – the taxpayer.
Two of my family members work at casinos where the seniors who live in “care facilities” are brought in by the busloads along with their oxygen tanks and social security checks. My sister didn’t know when she accepted the job as Customer Service Representative, that she would be required to wheel “disabled” geezers out to have a smoke, then drag them back to the one-armed-bandits.
When I referred to helping our senior neighbors, I meant the old people who still actually live in their homes in our neighborhoods. I am in contact with over two-dozen of them on a regular basis, checking to see if there is anything they need, or just want company. They barely get by on the meager pensions they earned by working their whole lives. Most of them are widowed, some are soon to be.
They are gradually being taxed out of their homes, perhaps by design. After all, if the government keeps building “senior homes”, and taking houses through eminent domain and other nefarious tactics, in order to feed the government construction jobs programs, where else will they go?
My point has always been, we are OVER TAXED. The Constitution says we’re a Democracy based Republic. The evidence says we’re a Socialist country on the fast track to Communism.
November 8, 2008 at 11:25 pm |
Mary,
Not sure about heading towards communism anytime soon. I think Bill Gates and a great deal of other smart folks have done pretty well for themselves in our capitalistic society. Though that may change with Obama… time will tell
As for overtaxed, can’t argue there. We just need to make sure we keep funding things that pay back. This is why I supported our community school’s levy. The money stays in our neighborhood and helps the kids that will someday pay our Social Security benefits and keep our country secure.
On the other hand, how many Presidential libraries does a country really need? I always wonder.