Looking for Truth in Onaway

  A while ago, spurred by the actions of some on our school board, I stood up at a meeting and proposed that board members and anyone running for election this fall should pledge to refrain from name-calling and insults.  It was my own idea; no one else knew I was planning to do it. I thought, in my silly, logical way, that things might go better if people took control of themselves and behaved with civility. That night three board members, Jeremy Veal, Annette Porter, and Mike Hart, immediately signed. Two people who had announced they'd be running for the board, Taed Price and Lain Veihl, also agreed to remain civil. (I should mention that at that point, some of the current candidates had not yet attended a board meeting, namely Jim Gibson, Joe Bonnard, and Tom Moran, so they might not have heard the proposal.) The next time the board met, I stood again at citizens' time and asked if the others would sign. Board member Lorrie Kowalski did. No one else spoke. In fact, Erin Cha

 I attended the candidate forum Sunday evening, and here are my thoughts. First, the organization that put on the event was great. Up North Advocacy works to inform and assist communities in northern Lower Michigan and the eastern U.P. They have provided Onaway School District voters with advice and support over the past two years, helping to define what is legal for a school board to do, what is ethical behavior for school board members, and helping to assure that Onaway's board acts legally and ethically. Second, the moderators, Community Mediation Services, were also great. They were completely neutral while being encouraging and supportive. Now the candidates. Four did not attend: Jim Rieger, Joe Bonnard, Kathy Christian, and Sherri LaFave. They announced on Facebook that the event was "woke," so they will be having their own. I addressed that in an earlier post, but their decision tells me all I need to know about how they plan to operate if elected, so NO to them. B

Today, September 22nd, is the date for the candidate forum for Onaway Area Schools board candidates (7:00-8:30 pm at the school). An organization called Up North Advocacy has arranged the evening, with a host from outside the community to ensure objectivity. Candidates were informed of the date with plenty of notice. They were assured they would not be subjected to harassment. While the audience can submit questions in writing, they can't say who'll be asked a specific one, so no candidate can become the target of "gotcha" questions. Every attempt will be made to give candidates the chance to tell the voters what their priorities are. Sadly, a group of candidates will not be there tonight. Here's part of their Facebook post: We, James Rieger, John Palmer, Lorrie Kowalski, Joe Bonnard, Sheri LaFave, and Kathleen Christian are writing this to inform the community as a group, we will not be attending the meeting that is being held, by the Up North Advocacy. Ma

  You might feel bombarded by millage information by now, but in case you're not yet up to your eyeballs, here's my explanation.       WHAT IS IT? The millage ( rate of taxation expressed in mills per dollar) on the August 6 ballot is OPERATING money. It's what we pay to keep the doors open at the school. It's nothing new, nothing more than what the state requires all communities to pay. WHO PAYS? In Michigan, millage is NOT charged on your home property. That's what "non-homestead" means. WHAT IF IT FAILS? We won't get foundation money from the state. Our per-pupil funding will drop  significantly. We probably won't have things like sports and other extra-curricular activities, might not have bussing, might have upper grades doing on-line and only elementary kids in (overcrowded) classrooms. WHAT WOULD I LIKE YOU TO KNOW? What you hear/see about the school board should have no bearing on your vote. Students need teachers, textbooks, and electric

 Last night, I went to a meeting where a group of citizens, many of them from the "Old Teachers" group, learned about our upcoming millage. We tossed around ideas for clarifying to the public what the millage is for and why it's important that voters support it. We heard from a man who recently ran a successful campaign in another school district. It was informative and important. Apparently, my leaving home after the dinner hour was an Event of Interest to local keyboard warriors, and to be honest, it's not something I do often, so I'll share with you what I learned . --Onaway Area Schools has a millage vote on August 6th. It's not for new stuff. It's to keep the doors open. It's not unusual . All Michigan school districts MUST levy 18 mills on non-homestead property to receive their full foundation allowance. -- Millage is the operating money a school gets from taxes. A failure of this millage vote would send our per-pupil funding from $9608 to $3

  At last Tuesday’s board meeting, a woman demanded to know if Ms. Horn told some of the teachers there had been talk of a charter school among The Four board members. The question was presented as a gotcha, like she was the one behind all the "rumors." Ms. Horn said yes, she'd shared what she heard. My thought was, “Was she supposed to keep it a secret?” In 2021, John Palmer posted this on Facebook: (It’s still on his feed, so go look if you don’t believe me.)   John Palmer FB Oct. 28, 2021 Want to ask a hypothetical question to all of you parents, please share this with other parents also. If an alternative school was offered in the Onaway area, be it Christian based or other, would you consider removing your child or children, from the Onaway public system? I n September of 2022, several people running for school board met with some outsiders about the future of our school. Here’s a picture of one such meeting, along with a post that followed. Two current board