DIRECTORS’ CORNER
Nostalgia for the
Greg Gaarder
Business Manager,
Tomah Area School District
I
WASBO Director
Miss the Golden Years! In
some ways, I will look at the
1990’s through 2007 as the
golden years of education.
Passing building referendums,
negotiating contracts, dealing
with cost controls, and testing (the
Third Grade Reading and the 4th, 8th
and 10th grade Knowledge and Concept
Tests) were the most pressing
issues of the day. It was predicted that
each of these would be, in some form
or fashion, the downfall of public
education.
Our parents told us how difficult life
was when they were kids. They told
us how they had to walk five miles to
school and that it was up hill, there
and back. Educators would tell me
how bad the QEO was and what a
slap in the face a 3.8% total package
was. Even though money was not
abundant, there always seemed to be
enough to cover a 3.8% increase. Life
was good; we negotiated every two
years and moved on. That might not
have been everyone’s experience, but
it was mine. What I would do to go
back to those “horrible” days!
I was talking with our administrative
team the other day regarding the possible
financial impact of COVID-19
on school finances. It was during that
conversation that it occurred to me
that many of our Board members,
administrators, teachers, and support
staff have never experienced what
many of us lived through in the golden
years of education in the 90’s and
"Golden Years"
We have a staff that is all too familiar with chaos
and unpredictable budgets in schools. They never
saw the golden years. They have experienced
more adversity in the last 12 years than in the
previous 100 years combined. They are strong
and experienced. They will get through this.
early to mid-2000’s.
Those years were all about the predictability
of school finances and the ability
to plan and focus on educational
improvements. In the 10 years after
2008, we have lived through the great
recession, reductions in funding, loss
of collective bargaining agreements,
ACT 10, the development of employee
handbooks, countless operational
referendums, expanded open enrollment,
virtual schools, and very lean
years financially through 2017.
I was selfishly hoping to ride out the
next four years under the relative
security of knowing that although finances
would still be tight in schools,
we had a champion named Tony Evers
sitting in the Governor’s seat for four
years guarding our financial future
in schools. A severe financial crisis
forced upon like ACT 10 was just not
foreseeable, besides we had just passed
an operational referendum. Possible
lean years, potentially, but another
financial crisis like ACT 10, no way.
Wait, what, COVID 19!
We are hearing talk of another budget
repair bill. Does that mean another
freeze or worse yet a reduction in
funding? I do not want to do this
again. Will I have to champion another
wage freeze, reduction in benefits,
or laying people off ? Act 10, all over
again, oh my! (That kind of rhymes,
how sick.) It sounds like a bad spoof
out of the Wizard of Oz. The only
thing worse than a budget repair
bill could be the next two-year state
budget.
How will we get through this? Well,
we are battle tested from the Great
Recession and Act 10. We have a staff
that is all too familiar with chaos and
unpredictable budgets in schools.
They never saw the golden years.
They have experienced more adversity
in the last 12 years than in the
previous 100 years combined. They
are strong and experienced. They will
get through this. I just need to do my
part now, again. Here we go, on three,
TEAM.
14 June 2020 • Taking Care of Business • WASBO.com