UPDATE: Election Cliff (Milton School District) – Fiscal Cliff (US) - GOING OVER BOTH CLIFFS TONIGHT INTO 2013!
UPDATE: Election Cliff (Milton School District) – Fiscal Cliff (US) - GOING OVER BOTH CLIFFS TONIGHT INTO 2013!
I am sure YOU have been following developments on our NATIONAL "FISCAL CLIFF" crisis. I suspect that our LOCAL "ELECTION CLIFF" in our School District of Milton has been flying under the radar... I HOPE NOT! With the deadline for filing nomination papers coming next Wed., 1/2/2013, the "ELECTION CLIFF" comes next Wednesday! Forewarned is forearmed! Is too late?!
I AWAKENED TODAY with MORE AUDACITY of HOPE that the FISCAL CLIFF will be avoided when our representatives in our US CONGRESS are ALLOWED to vote UP or DOWN on a bill to deal with the IMMINENT FISCAL CLIFF. I am VERY HAPPY that our US President Obama is demanding action by the CONGRESS without giving the store away. He was ELECTED by WE THE PEOPLE of the US in part on the basis of his promise to increase taxes on the wealthy earning more than $250,000. GO FOR IT!
I am reassured by WARREN BUFFET’s assertion to BBC Radio 4 yesterday morning reported online by Huff Post Business, “Warren Buffett On Fiscal Cliff: ‘We’ll Get It Solved.'"
Warren Buffett is reported to have said, "We're a rich country. It can be solved... We'll be able to overcome this problem. America has faced a lot tougher problems than this one. We'll get it solved."
IF OUR REPS ACT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL WE THE PEOPLE OF THE US, THEY WILL TAKE ACTION NOW BEFORE THE USA GOES OVER THE CLIFF!
I know that Congressman Tammy Baldwin and Senator Herb Kohl will vote FOR legislation to protect MIDDLE CLASS citizens, but I am NOT AT ALL confident in Senator Johnson’s vote. I did send an e-mail to Senator Johnson. IF you too want to communicate with Senator Johnson, you can use the following link to access the official e-mail form, “E-mail Ron.” Communicate YOUR request to Sen. Johnson.
AT THE SAME TIME, I am concerned about the challenge of a local situation in our SCHOOL DISTRICT OF MILTON which I consider an “ELECTION CLIFF.”
The report in this week’s MILTON COURIER, “Nomination papers circulating” states, “For the school board, president Rob Roy and treasurer Betsy Lubke are up for re-election. Each school board position is a three-year term. Roy and Lubke have filed declaration of candidacy papers and are collecting signatures.
“Joe Martin has picked up a nomination packet, but has not filed any paperwork with the school district. Nomination packets can be picked up at the school district office at 448 E. High St. until 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The district office will be closed for winter break from Dec. 24 through Jan. 1.”
I was STUNNED to realize that both board incumbents have declared that they intend to run for reelection and are seeking nominating signatures. I would NOT sign either petition because I do NOT think that either incumbent should be re-elected.
MORE WORRISOME is the fact that there is ONE & ONLY ONE person who picked up the nomination packet. JOE MARTIN – he ran for the Board last year. I talked with Joe and he has NOT yet decided as to whether he will choose to run. I totally respect whatever decision Joe makes.
The Courier article reports the fact that the Milton School District Office is closed from Monday, December 24, 2012 through Tuesday, January 1, 2013. This means that the ONLY opportunity for a citizen to become a candidate for our school board would be during the day on Wednesday, January 4, 2013. So far as I am able to ascertain, the office closes at 4 pm CST.
FRUSTRATING that the Courier does NOT report to citizens on alternatives as to how to gain access to the official forms to file a nomination petition. WHY NOT? WHY has our Milton Board of Education NOT done MORE to make sure that citizens were INFORMED so that citizens would have easy access to obtain the nomination packet?
In fact, why does our BOARD NOT set-up a LOCAL source for access? If none of the Board Members are willing to VOLUNTEER to hand-out the packets during the Winter Break, I am sure there are other persons who would volunteer! I ask the MILTON SCHOOL BOARD to take action to make sure that NOMINATION PACKETS are available to citizens EVERY SINGLE REGULAR WORKDAY (Mon-Fri) from December 1 through January 1 in future years. WHY NOT?!
I am NOT sure that the present situation is LEGAL and am investigating since we’ve learned that our current MILTON SCHOOL BOARD only follows WI State Law when threatened with a law suit. WHY did it take the threat of a law suit from The Janesville Gazette for our MILTON SCHOOL BOARD to follow WI PUBLIC RECORDS LAW? I am waiting IMpatiently for our Milton School Board to TELL WE THE PEOPLE of the Milton School District. I am NOT holding my breath. There are still several records/documents which have NOT been made public as REQUIRED by WI PUBLIC RECORDS LAW.
I contacted our WI Government Accountability Board to find out about the availability of official documents to petition to be on a SPRING 2013 election ballot. I got a prompt and forthcoming response.
The response provided me the key information I needed in terms of HOW to ACCESS official documents to become a candidate for our MILTON SCHOOL BOARD in spite of the fact that the school district office is closed through January 1, 2013 now. The response reported that all of the paperwork is available ONLINE from the G.A.B. Use this link, “Local Candidates – Non-Partisan” and scroll down to “For School District candidates” and use the LINKS THERE. You can review the official information online.
Be sure YOU read carefully and follow the ballot access checklist which is posted as new for 2013. IF you want to declare candidacy, YOU must complete the official form GAB-162 form. It should be filed with the school district office FIRST THING on Wed., Jan. 2, 2013 when the office opens. One should file that form before circulating nominating petitions, but that is NOT possible in our School District of Milton. The only possibility is to file the declaration ASAP on Wed. morning when the school district office re-opens.
You will find that the various information sheets provide you with the DETAILS you need. AFTER THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICE opens on Wed., 1/2/2013, you will be able to call the office: 608-868-9200 with questions.
The official nomination petition form is GAB-169 – Nomination paper for non-partisan office. PRINT a copy. Complete the GENERAL lines and run copies to circulate for signatures. The state law requires that one submit at least 100 and no more than 200 legal signatures of CITIZENS for the School District of Milton. Be sure to follow the instructions for each item carefully so that you do NOT have signatures disqualified. YOU do need to file more than 100 to protect yourself since you will be filing your petition on or just before deadline on Wed., 1/2/2013.
If you want to read about the current Board of Education with bio and contact information, use this link for “The Board” on the School District website.
We owe a real debt of gratitude to our Milton Courier for its thorough GENERAL SUMMARY of the “MESS” in our Milton School District which was published on Wednesday, December 20, 2012. The feature articled by James Debilzen is NOT available online – the title is, “Records: Garrow resigning: District administrator signed agreement on Nov. 12.” IF you want to know the details of our Milton School District “MESS,” I think the most complete report is this feature article.
There are numerous QUESTIONS which have NOT YET been addressed by our Milton School Board. I would NOTE, with disappointment, that our board has not yet released ALL of the DOCUMENTS for which the Milton Courier and Janesville Gazette filed public document petitions. WHY NOT?
I have discussed our Milton School District “MESS” on my WE THE PEOPLE blog numerous times. I am frustrated when I review those posts and realize that MY FIRST POST was on November 16, 2012 which was ACTUALLY 4 days after we NOW KNOW the Superintendent resigned with not only FULL PAY & BENEFITS through June 2013, but also a $35,000 severance package! WHY did we NOT know this IMMEDIATELY?!?! It is NOT until one reads the Courier’s summary feature article published on December 20, 2012 that one finally gets the report that the superintendent did resign on November 12, 2012 with the severance package.
I continue to vote NO CONFIDENCE in our Milton School Board. Remember: IT takes the whole board acting as a board. This means that every member of the board is a participant in the “MESS.” I do wonder WHY we have NOT heard from our elected board members.
New Year 2013 is going to be a DIFFICULT year in our School District of Milton due to the “MESS” which our Board created in October 2012. There are MANY questions which NEED to be answered. I am sure they will be asked during the campaign cycle for our school board this spring 2013. I hope so.
I honestly have MORE HOPE that the “FISCAL CLIFF” will be resolved before MIDNIGHT December 31, 2012 than that our “ELECTION CLIFF” in our School District of Milton will be resolved. What do YOU expect?
Here we go…
Mr. E.
John Eyster lives in the Edgerton area. He is an adjunct professor of political science at UW-Waukesha and an advocate for democracy/civics education in Wisconsin high schools. John is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.
Jan 1, 2013 at 8:35 p.m.
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Well, we are over the cliff.
By my reckoning,the Republicans have broken their pledge to Grover Norquist
by allowing taxes to increase by inaction
to remedy a situation that they agreed to.
They allowed taxes to increase on everyone.
Remedying the situation now does not erase that.
Jan 1, 2013 at 7:54 a.m.
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For WISLADY - "The FISCAL CLIFF is a POLITICALLY MANUFACTURED CRISIS" & "It was originally concocted by the Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell as a way to get past the last crisis manufactured by the Republicans...the 2011 standoff over increasing the Federal Debt Ceiling" - More Re-FIB-lican games for all you Lemmings to follow...lol
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-cre...
http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/mitch-m...
http://www.salon.com/2010/08/24/mitch_mc...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/04/15...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/04/...
Dec 31, 2012 at 3:50 p.m.
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VERY interesting to read the Gazette's TEN TOP STORIES of 2012 today! I noted that #6 related to the "MESS" in our Milton School District. Intro statement, "Was it a case of the board jumping the gun on a few nebulous complaints?" BOTTOM-LINE, whatever REALLY happened, it is costing us - TAXPAYERS of the School District of Milton - FULL PAY & BENEFITS for Garrow for leave from Oct. 12, 2012 through the remainder of the WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR to the end of JUNE 2013 PLUS $35,000 severance pay-off. SCANDAL! New Year 2013 will NOT be the end of that "mess" - the BOARD has NOT yet released all the documents sought by our MILTON COURIER and THE JANESVILLE GAZETTE under WI public document law. Will the Gazette pursue the legal suit for disclosure? I HOPE SO! What do YOU hope? Here we go... John W. Eyster
Dec 31, 2012 at 8:48 a.m.
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donnaw: An allowance? What's that? I never had one as a kid.
Dec 30, 2012 at 4:47 p.m.
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High road...one question..where do you think the money for the pay raises should come from? Do you have any idea how far this country is in debt? What if one of your kids wanted an increase in their allowance and your credit cards were maxed out, you had no savings, and your job was on shaky ground. Of course you would give your kid an increase in allowance, according to your thinking, because after all, your kid hadn't had an allowance increase in over three years. Some reasoning!
Dec 30, 2012 at 1:01 p.m.
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I pay taxes and I say give the Federal Workers a raise. They have sacrificed. Time for others to start to sacrifice as well.
Repubs don't need Obama to make them look bad. Repubs have themselves and their Tea Party nut jobs to do that for them. The Repubs are being held hostage by their Tea Party members and can't even agree on anything to bring to the table. GOP, Grandpas Old Party, has been swirling the bowl for years. Polls are out and Republicans are getting the black eye for the stalemate in the Cliff Negotions. Letting this go over the cliff could be the end for the Repubs.
Dec 30, 2012 at 12:03 p.m.
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There is NO justification for ending the freeze (which was set to go until April), especially since it is the taxpayers who PAY the wages.
Instead of going on TV to continue to demonize and blame republicans, Obama needs to work with both parties to reach a deal.
Dec 30, 2012 at 10:20 a.m.
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Obama's froze wages on Federal Employees for the last two years. This was an answer to reign in spending by Federal Employees sacrificing their share. Yes, Congress is included in on this, but there are many times more Federal workers who have sacrificed for the last two years. This latest order is a raise of one half of one percent, .005 that is pretty small. What is the cost of living, 4% a year? That means that these families' wages fell behind by 11.5% over the three year span. The order is set to go into effect this spring, but may be voided by fiscal cliff legislation.
Dec 30, 2012 at 10:14 a.m.
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Are YOU willing to put YOUR money where YOUR mouth is MR EYSTER, and run for school board? Perhaps YOU prefer to sit on the curb of cowardice and spew YOUR vitriolic BS! Poorly written vitriol at that!
WW
Dec 30, 2012 at 9:22 a.m.
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For many years the district office made sure that the Milton Courier published articles about board candidacy and when and where to pick up nomination packets. The office was staffed over the holidays so people had a chance to stop by and get the information needed. With changes in staff, that process fell by the wayside. Milton School District needs to do a better job with issues like this.
Dec 30, 2012 at 8:44 a.m.
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Talk about misinformation. "The Courier article reports the fact that the Milton School District Office is closed from Monday, December 24, 2012 through Tuesday, January 1, 2013. This means that the ONLY opportunity for a citizen to become a candidate for our school board would be during the day on Wednesday, January 4, 2013."
Dec 30, 2012 at 8:18 a.m.
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I find it interesting that some people use this forum to vent on issues not raised in Mr. Eyster's article. I agree with him that it is appalling that two Board members are running for re-election after the way they helped create the "mess" with the recent superintendent's situation. I also agree that the district office should have publicized the fact that nomination packets were available and remained open during the holidays so people could pick them up. Hopefully this practice will change next year.
Dec 30, 2012 at 8:10 a.m.
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gary if your fringe peoples would change there daily tune I could stop showing the hypocrisy of it. Until then carry on with your pointless posts.
Dec 29, 2012 at 8:09 p.m.
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And don't you love it!! Obama by Executive Order has given RAISES to congress, federal employees and staff, including Biden. We have sooooo much money and Americans are doing so well he can give raises. Go figure! What an egotistical arrogant so-called leader.
Dec 29, 2012 at 7:53 p.m.
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RAFSOSDD.
Dec 29, 2012 at 11:35 a.m.
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Interesting how the socialist leaning leftists like to praise warren claimed current position on taxes. Ironically his business methods and personal investments have all been driven by avoiding high taxes and paying as little as possible. Heck even one of his media investments is doing their best to allow all investors pay less taxes by sending out dividends early.
So typical of the left fringe, do as I say not as I do theories in life.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/201...
Still waiting for a single liberal, claiming to want higher taxes, to be the first to step forward and show their conviction of position, paying more in taxes now instead of waiting until they have to....I know expecting conviction from these people is a high bar that will never be met.
Dec 29, 2012 at 11:18 a.m.
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I didn't read your rant. Again with the novel blog.
MY thought is another recession will come if they don't fix this.
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