DanMan, I salute you. You not only have a sense of humor but you’re a realist. What’s happening in the world is a bitter pill to swallow…I don’t think being straight up about that makes him a sniveler eetech…the problem is that a year or two down the road, the new gyms aren’t going to be big enough to hold all the homeless and hobos and snivelers as eetech calls them…in a year or two when the savings and unemployment bennies run out and jobs keep getting slashed, maybe 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 thousand “snivelers” will pack it in and leave Janesville …then what? Do you think the city is going to keep all the school when half the classrooms are empty? What, raise property taxes on those left behind, those stuck with homes they can’t even give away? I don’t want to sound like a “sniveler” or like I missed the train to chipperville, so let me say this to be real positive…I think people underestimate the Tahoes made at GM…a survey from Down and Out Magazine found that most homeless people preferred living in Tahoes rather than Mini-Coopers…I also think there is a good chance Jesus will come back and fix everything…I just don’t think he’ll be driving a Chrysler or Chevy or getting hired by JP Cullen because the city won’t have any more money to hire them so they can hire some poor carpenter with some big ideas…

Beloit Memorial is going to cut over 20 positions too. Up the class size to make up the slack. Doesnt sound like a good plan to me!

Spark--you always hit the nail on the head! Kudos for all of your comments.

I think "truth" is on to something.....

One other way of looking at it for those of you that our so against having updated schools. JP Cullen and other contractors spend a lot of time and work on these projects. That means people are working which is helping the local economy. Now that GM and all the other related companies are gone (that this city poorly depended on), maybe you should set aside you gripes about a few dollars in taxes and be happy that companies such as Cullen have work and can keep people employed. These are the companies that this city will need to rely on more than ever. It's tough to take listening to people complain about a little tax to help their own community, when your taxes are being wasted on a national level for worthless things that will never help you or the town you live in. Our youth are going to pay the price in the long run. At least let them enjoy learning in a great environment. Maybe it's time for some of YOU to get off your high horses and think out of the box.

DanMan- You didn't mention GM, buy you did blame the referendum for people losing houses due to higher taxes. You're kidding right? This small amount of tax is not going to cause you lose your home. The referendum wasn't pushed, it was needed. The people voted and obviously more agreed that it was needed. Now, realistically you could lose your house if you are out of a job due to these companies closing (which are all in someway related to GM), but that was unpredictable before the referendum so you asking if someone would still vote on this now is pretty ridiculous.

another reason why Janesville Schools suck! :P

Well said spark! I like your line of thinking, maybe it is because it is realistic.

As far as tom3205 goes, tell me what your visionary friends think about the mess we're in. How and when will we get out of it? They must have some sort of crystal ball that tells them these things. I hate to break it to ya but visionaries are only taking educated guesses that sometimes turn out to be wrong. So again, no one can see into the future with a large amount of certainty!

Rooster: You have a right to an opinion but put some thought behind what you say so you don't sound so naive. The referendums were far overdue.

I also think Rocky is right, this will be a way to negotiate with the JEA when it comes time. If it makes sense to cut a few teachers then do it but be very certain that it is the right move. Keeping our schools strong will help this city in the long run so don't start cutting things now unless it is absolutely necessary.

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Wait a minute, does that make me a "Visionary", if I think that a good school makes a great foundation for a community??? No that's just common sense.

eetech, First off there was no mention of GM closing in my blog. The economy was in a serious downward spiral at the time the referendum was sent through for the what, second time? My point is, what do new gymnasiums have to do with the education of our children? If we look at the physical condition of most of the kids, I'd say the money will be a waste anyway. If the money was spent directly on education and preparing young people for their futures, I'd be all for it. By the way, does everything in Janesville still revolve around GM? How about Lear, SSI, Gilman, etc? Get off your high horse and admit a mistake was made. I would ask, Would you vote for the spending today? I doubt it! Have a great day.

Keep the teachers - eliminate the administrators!

Yes, let's make the classes even larger. My classes averaged between 30 and 32 students each (graduated from Craig in 2005). I wonder what that average will be once these layoffs happen?

Unfortunately, when enrollment drops, it typically happens across the district: a few kids from each grade level at each school. We don't suddenly lose 200 kids from just one school building. So, cutting a teacher position impacts a building disproportionately to its enrollment drop, increasing class sizes. That said, cuts must happen somewhere.

insgal-Exactly why the city should have realized things were apparently unsettling for the last 25 years and done more to bring more options into this community. It's called growth and future planning. There is still plenty of kids in the school district that will enjoy and use the updated facilities. I don't know why so many of you are surprised at layoffs. It's happening everyday in this entire workforce. We all know this.

Voted NO for Referendum for this exact reason!
WHY?

Every UAW contract (every 3-4 years) for the past 25 years has been unsettling as to whether or not GM was going to stay in Janesville. Janesville plant was the oldest in the whole nation!

This cannot be a surprise that teachers are going to be layed off.

Sad that we have these beautiful buildings with not enough kids! Sad that we had to see the largest school referendum in the STATE of WI pass in the city with the largest risk!

Bravo Spark!

rooster- Have you been in the new schools yet? There's much more than a gym and just a reminder to you and everyone else complaining about this. The project was approved and started well before the economy took a dump and GM when down the toilet in this town. As for the computers, have you been paying attention to what's been happening? People want to be upset about something, be upset that for so many years, Janesville relied on GM for everything rather than expanding the community with other manufacturing opportunities. You and I and more importantly our youth are going to be paying for this bailout forever and taxes for the schools is going to be nothing compared to this. Now GM is looking at bankruptcy. There's a surprise and revelation. Let's not blame our school system, the teachers and what our youth deserve for the massive screw ups by corporations and our government. They don't deserve the blame.

Wasteful spending = spending that doesn't directly benefit me?!

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Gyms may seem "wasteful" to some, but remember that in these days of open enrollments, parents often select a school based on the available facilities, athletic being primary. These "wasteful" new gyms may just be the thing that attracts students and, subsequently, state assistance dollars. A fact that Milton voters would do well to keep in mind as they ponder the future of their district.

Eetech... Saying no one can predict the future is not quite true. Visionaries predict the future. People with "vision", have a talent. They just feel that something can be made to happen. I am amazed at the people, here in Southern Wisconsin, who so totally lack vision. Wisconsinites are stuck in "mid last century". They have not come to terms with our being in the 21st century. Take highway 26 for example. That should have been a "corporate corridor", a long time ago. Part of the interstate system, from I90 in Janesville, to I94..just like hwy 15 from Beloit to Milwaukee, became I43. But people just lack vision, so this valuable road may not come to be for years. So sad..

Healthy students also make more motivated and productive student!

it is hard to believe that anyone is defending gyms, redundant gyms. except for the incompetent and little caring school board and maybe the council that buys their song and dance. do we need computer upgrades now...no.
do we need continued wasteful spending now...no. does it matter what is best for the taxpayer in janesville to the city council and school board...no. can the average janesville citizen fight back...yes. but we need to organize. we need to picket. with all the laid off folks around town, it may be easy to muster and organize a peaceful demonstration. we should do it now.

upgrade money was spent on gyms.

Lower enrollment should mean lower staffing. It only makes sense. Why are we arguing about the school upgrades? They needed upgrading whether the enrollment goes down, or not.

How come people seem to jump down the throats of the schools when times get tough? Isn't there always going to be a need to take on the responsibility to educate our children? And, yes, that does include gymnasiums that allow for the students to learn how to exercise instead of sit around and get fat. Now, there's a concept, eh?

Can you say "negotiation tactic"? Most of the necessary reductions could probably be accomplished through attrition, but putting potential layoff notices in teacher pay envelopes this month has a very dramatic effect. Next we will see the statement that "layoffs can be avoided if teachers accept a pay cut" or some such thing, followed by "the layoffs are the result of the Union's refusal to accept <you fill in the blank>", placing the blame on the teachers and their union.

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From what I understand, the enrollment decline in Milton has been very small - more of a stalling of growth than a general decline. Janesville has been declining for years while Milton was growing.

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eetech - well said.

Funny people complain about taxes so much. Something you all better get used to. I would much rather have updated schools and pay the taxes on that, than what we'll be paying for trying to bail out GM. (which by the way, didn't work and isn't going to). You haven't seen nothing yet. Get used to it.

Even with the lower enrollments the upgrades were still needed.

DanMan: First off the referendum came well before the GM closure announcment right? Even if it didn't happen before the GM announcement and you lose your home because of an extra $100 dollars a year you probably were going to lose it anyway. No one will be losing their home because of $100 dollars a year, that's being a bit dramatic isn't it? Quit your snivelling! The district did what it needed to do at the time, no one can predict the future. Also there are many people that will argue that the growth of our city in the future will have a good school system at it's core. Take your negativity and move to a different city.

Maybe Milton should take a lesson from Janesville.

It's a good thing the school board pushed the referendum. Now when we lose our homes due to higher taxes, we can live in the gyms, Katrina style. Good move everyone!