� � �� � ��� � �� �� � by Laura Adelmann THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS For the controversey- embroiled Farmington School Board, change started in dramatic fashion at its 2011 inaugural meet- ing, Jan. 10. With three new mem- bers, School Board in- cumbents Julie Singewald and Julie McKnight found themselves in the minority, unable to stop a board pay cut or review of the full in- vestigative report against Board Member Tim Burke. Based on an eight-page summary of the approxi- mately 600-page inves- tigative report, the 2010 board had censured Burke for possibly violating the Board’s conduct codes and state data practices laws. The matter has been rec- ommended for review by a city attorney for possible charges. Neither Burke nor his at- torney have read the entire report, but Burke has main- tained the district has with- held information, and has expressed frustration that the prior board refused fur- ther review of those issues. But Burke may have found support in newly elected members, Tera Lee, Brian Treakle and Melissa Sauser. The three were voted into leadership roles: Lee is chair, Treakle, vice-chair and Sauser clerk. The new majority then determined a full review of the report is needed; McKnight and Singewald voted against full review. Lee said after members read a redacted version of the full report, they will determine if further consid- eration of its findings are warranted. Singewald cited concerns about additional costs of “rehashing, what I would consider a closed topic.” Burke, who was elected treasurer, supported the review, and said other peo- ple’s behavior, as cited in the report, should be con- sidered by the board. “Right now, the purpose is to get an understand- ing of all the investigator found, because we did pay $10,000 for that investiga- tion,” Burke said. The district has also been billed approximately $3,000 more for November legal expenses related to the report, and it is expected additional charges will be on December’s bill. Pay Cuts Singewald and McKnight also were the only opposition to Burke’s motion to cut board mem- ber’s pay from $5,200 to $4,500 for the chair and from $4,200 to $3,600 for other members. Citing anticipated bud- get challenges, which were later quantified by District Finance Director Jeff Priess as a $1.8 million deficit, sti- pends for additional or un- planned meetings were also eliminated. McKnight and Singe- wald opposed all cuts be- cause they said the money helps them make up to their families for their time they sacrifice with school board activities. In reviewing the budget, Priess said 80 percent of district expenditures are on salaries and benefits, indi- cating cuts may come from that area. In passing the board pay cuts, Treakle said, “We’ll be faced with a lot of cut- ting this year…it may be employees. If we don’t show we’re contributing ourselves, I don’t see how we can look teachers in the face and say you have to go home, but we’ll keep our salaries.” Laura Adelmann is at laura. [email protected]. General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000 Lakeville Messages/2A Opinion/4A Announcements/5A Public Notices/5A Sports/6A Classifieds/7A A NEWS OPINION SPORTS Thisweek www.thisweeklive.com www.thisweeklive.com Farmington-Lakeville Farmington-Lakeville JANUARY 14, 2011 VOLUME 31, NO. 46 Author and baseball Author and baseball buff Stew Thornley to buff Stew Thornley to speak Jan. 18 at the speak Jan. 18 at the Robert Trail Library. Robert Trail Library. See Thisweekend See Thisweekend Page 12A Page 12A by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS Fewer activities and sports, larger class sizes and a closed elementary school are the likely results of the budget- adjustment discussions in Lakeville public schools. District administrators presented the first draft of their budget-adjustment pro- posals to the School Board at a special Jan. 5 meeting and talked about it further at the Board’s Jan. 11 meeting. The result is essentially what Superintendent Gary Amoroso calls a “systemic change” in the way the district will operate. The plan addresses a $15.8 million budget deficit the dis- trict faces beginning in 2011- 2012 and continuing in 2012- 2013. Among the activities in- cluded for elimination are the gymnastics programs and debate teams at the high schools, some middle school music instruction and bands, competitive cheer and some levels of choir and some dra- ma performances. This has drawn some vo- cal opposition. An audience of about 100 people crammed into the School Board cham- bers on Jan. 11. The audience members held up signs, tossed out the occasional vocal affir- mation and offered up some spirited applause, as students, staff and parents pleaded with the Board for reprieve during the public comment portion of the meeting. In an interview this week, 2009 Lakeville South High School graduate Sarah Rosenthal said that it is get- Game-changing budget proposal hits 194 Photo by Aaron Vehling This is a portion of the crowd that gathered to give voice to the concerns of people affected by the Lakeville school district’s proposed budget adjustments, which include eliminating several programs and staffing positions. Lakeville schools could see large classes, 100 fewer teachers, fewer activities, one fewer elementary school by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS When a community faces a paradigm shift of pervasive proportions – in this case, major changes in Lakeville schools because of budget issues – it often evokes strong emotions and spirited, thoughtful debate. This has come out as the school board, district administrators and teach- ers and staff discuss how to balance the budget while re- taining a high-quality edu- cational system. Superintendent Gary Amoroso said at the School Board’s Jan. 11 meeting that the current budget proposal reflects the ninth and tenth year of budget adjustments in the district. “So far, we’ve adjusted more than $20 million in this system,” Amoroso said. Shared pain, he said, is only now coming about. “It has been about pro- tecting our classrooms,” he said. Only about 8 percent of the cuts over the past eight years have been teachers, he added. This compares to 36 percent who were education assistants, 18 percent from buildings and grounds and 8 percent from administra- tion. “We wanted to do ev- erything we could to sup- port and protect our class- rooms,” he said, “but with the $15.8 million deficit we can no longer do that.” He is not the only one to make the assessment that teachers need to share more of the pain. Ruthie Nelson, a junior at Lakeville South, said the district should freeze teach- er salaries for two years. “Any teacher ought to be willing to take a temporary pay freeze,” Nelson told the Board and administrators before an audience of al- most 100 people crammed Administration, teachers differ on shared pain after 10 years of budget cuts Photo by Laura Adelmann Incumbent School Board Member Julie McKnight congratulated new school board members Tera Lee, right, Brian Treakle and Melissa Sauser, left, after swearing them in to office. During the meeting, McKnight unsuccessfully opposed many of their votes, including one calling for board review of the full investigative report of Board Member Tim Burke. New school board members push for change Members vote 4-2 to cut their salaries by Tim Budig ECM CAPITOL REPORTER Never before has House Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Mary Liz Holberg felt a keener appetite among vot- ers for government tight-fistedness. “And they (voters) want to make darn sure things get turned around before their kids are in a whole world of hurt,” Hol- berg said of government spending. Holberg, a Republican from Lakeville, traces the origins of the state’s projected $6 billion budget deficit in part to the last legislative session – to an unwillingness to make tough decisions. There has been a rash of commentary blaming former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty for the big deficit, but Pawlenty was far more willing to make structural cuts than Democrats, Holberg argued. “So trying to wring the deficit around only Pawlenty’s neck is unfair,” she said. How Republicans and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, who’s expected to propose tax increases on wealthier Minnesotans, Rep. Holberg says voters want government tight-fistedness Lakeville legislator brings local values to state government Photo by Tim Budig Mary Liz Holberg by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS Lakeville City Adminis- trator Steve Mielke is one of three finalists for a city manager position in Eden Prairie. Mielke, who has been with Lakeville since 2004, said that Eden Prairie had asked him to apply for the position in November. He decided to pursue it to see where the opportunity led, he said. Before coming to Lakev- ille, Mielke was the city manager of Hopkins, where he was instrumental in rede- veloping its iconic down- town. His experi- ence in rede- velopment in that built-out city is among the qualities that would qualify him for the position in Eden Prairie, he said. The other two finalists, according to reports, are current Hopkins city man- ager Rick Getschow and Ryan Schroeder, city admin- istrator for Cottage Grove. Mielke and the other fi- nalists will meet residents of Eden Prairie on Jan. 19 and then the Eden Prairie City Council will make a final de- cision on Feb. 3 Manager vs. Administrator The positions are slightly different. Mielke said a city manager has the power to hire and terminate staff, whereas a city administra- tor must defer to a city council on such matters. E-mail Aaron Vehling at aaron. [email protected]. City administrator a finalist for top job in Eden Prairie Steve Mielke has worked for Lakeville since 2004 Mielke See Cuts, 10A See 194 Budget, 3A See Holberg, 11A
For the controversey-embroiled Farmington School Board, change started in dramatic fashion at its 2011 inaugural meet-ing, Jan. 10. With three new mem-bers, School Board in-cumbents Julie Singewald and Julie McKnight found themselves in the minority, unable to stop a board pay cut or review of the full in-vestigative report against Board Member Tim Burke. Based on an eight-page summary of the approxi-mately 600-page inves-tigative report, the 2010 board had censured Burke for possibly violating the Board’s conduct codes and state data practices laws. The matter has been rec-ommended for review by a city attorney for possible
charges. Neither Burke nor his at-torney have read the entire report, but Burke has main-tained the district has with-held information, and has expressed frustration that the prior board refused fur-ther review of those issues. But Burke may have found support in newly elected members, Tera Lee, Brian Treakle and Melissa Sauser. The three were voted into leadership roles: Lee is chair, Treakle, vice-chair and Sauser clerk. The new majority then determined a full review of the report is needed; McKnight and Singewald voted against full review. Lee said after members read a redacted version of the full report, they will determine if further consid-eration of its findings are
warranted. Singewald cited concerns about additional costs of “rehashing, what I would
consider a closed topic.” Burke, who was elected treasurer, supported the review, and said other peo-
ple’s behavior, as cited in the report, should be con-sidered by the board. “Right now, the purpose is to get an understand-ing of all the investigator found, because we did pay $10,000 for that investiga-tion,” Burke said. The district has also been billed approximately $3,000 more for November legal expenses related to the report, and it is expected additional charges will be on December’s bill.Pay Cuts Singewald and McKnight also were the only opposition to Burke’s motion to cut board mem-ber’s pay from $5,200 to $4,500 for the chair and from $4,200 to $3,600 for other members. Citing anticipated bud-get challenges, which were later quantified by District Finance Director Jeff Priess as a $1.8 million deficit, sti-
pends for additional or un-planned meetings were also eliminated. McKnight and Singe-wald opposed all cuts be-cause they said the money helps them make up to their families for their time they sacrifice with school board activities. In reviewing the budget, Priess said 80 percent of district expenditures are on salaries and benefits, indi-cating cuts may come from that area. In passing the board pay cuts, Treakle said, “We’ll be faced with a lot of cut-ting this year…it may be employees. If we don’t show we’re contributing ourselves, I don’t see how we can look teachers in the face and say you have to go home, but we’ll keep our salaries.” Laura Adelmann is at [email protected].
JANUARY 14, 2011 VOLUME 31, NO. 46 Author and baseball Author and baseball buff Stew Thornley to buff Stew Thornley to speak Jan. 18 at the speak Jan. 18 at the Robert Trail Library.Robert Trail Library.See ThisweekendSee Thisweekend
Page 12APage 12A
by Aaron VehlingTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Fewer activities and sports, larger class sizes and a closed elementary school are the likely results of the budget-adjustment discussions in Lakeville public schools. District administrators presented the first draft of their budget-adjustment pro-posals to the School Board at a special Jan. 5 meeting and talked about it further at the Board’s Jan. 11 meeting. The result is essentially what Superintendent Gary Amoroso calls a “systemic change” in the way the district will operate. The plan addresses a $15.8 million budget deficit the dis-trict faces beginning in 2011-2012 and continuing in 2012-2013. Among the activities in-cluded for elimination are the gymnastics programs and debate teams at the high schools, some middle school music instruction and bands, competitive cheer and some levels of choir and some dra-ma performances. This has drawn some vo-cal opposition. An audience of about 100 people crammed
into the School Board cham-bers on Jan. 11. The audience members held up signs, tossed out the occasional vocal affir-mation and offered up some
spirited applause, as students, staff and parents pleaded with the Board for reprieve during the public comment portion of the meeting.
In an interview this week, 2009 Lakeville South High School graduate Sarah Rosenthal said that it is get-
Game-changing budget proposal hits 194
Photo by Aaron Vehling
This is a portion of the crowd that gathered to give voice to the concerns of people affected by the Lakeville school district’s proposed budget adjustments, which include eliminating several programs and staffing positions.
Lakeville schools could see large classes, 100 fewer teachers, fewer activities, one fewer elementary school
by Aaron VehlingTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
When a community faces a paradigm shift of pervasive proportions – in this case, major changes in Lakeville schools because of budget issues – it often evokes strong emotions and spirited, thoughtful debate. This has come out as the school board, district administrators and teach-ers and staff discuss how to balance the budget while re-taining a high-quality edu-cational system. Superintendent Gary Amoroso said at the School Board’s Jan. 11 meeting that the current budget proposal reflects the ninth and tenth year of budget adjustments in the district. “So far, we’ve adjusted more than $20 million in this system,” Amoroso said. Shared pain, he said, is only now coming about. “It has been about pro-tecting our classrooms,”
he said. Only about 8 percent of the cuts over the past eight years have been teachers, he added. This compares to 36 percent who were education assistants, 18 percent from buildings and grounds and 8 percent from administra-tion. “We wanted to do ev-erything we could to sup-port and protect our class-rooms,” he said, “but with the $15.8 million deficit we can no longer do that.” He is not the only one to make the assessment that teachers need to share more of the pain. Ruthie Nelson, a junior at Lakeville South, said the district should freeze teach-er salaries for two years. “Any teacher ought to be willing to take a temporary pay freeze,” Nelson told the Board and administrators before an audience of al-most 100 people crammed
Administration, teachers differ on shared pain after
10 years of budget cuts
Photo by Laura Adelmann
Incumbent School Board Member Julie McKnight congratulated new school board members Tera Lee, right, Brian Treakle and Melissa Sauser, left, after swearing them in to office. During the meeting, McKnight unsuccessfully opposed many of their votes, including one calling for board review of the full investigative report of Board Member Tim Burke.
New school board members push for changeMembers vote 4-2 to cut their salaries
by Tim BudigECM CAPITOL REPORTER
Never before has House Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Mary Liz Holberg felt a keener appetite among vot-ers for government tight-fistedness. “And they (voters) want to make darn sure things get turned around before their kids are in a whole world of hurt,” Hol-berg said of government spending. Holberg, a Republican from Lakeville, traces the origins of the state’s projected $6 billion budget deficit in part to the last legislative session – to an unwillingness to make tough decisions. There has been a rash of commentary blaming former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty for the big deficit, but Pawlenty was far more willing to make structural cuts than Democrats, Holberg argued.
“So trying to wring the deficit around only Pawlenty’s neck is unfair,” she said. How Republicans and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, who’s expected to propose tax increases on wealthier Minnesotans,
Rep. Holberg says voters want government tight-fistednessLakeville legislator brings local values to state government
Photo by Tim Budig
Mary Liz Holberg
by Aaron VehlingTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Lakeville City Adminis-trator Steve Mielke is one of three finalists for a city manager position in Eden Prairie. Mielke, who has been with Lakeville since 2004, said that Eden Prairie had asked him to apply for the position in November. He decided to pursue it to see where the opportunity led, he said. Before coming to Lakev-ille, Mielke was the city manager of Hopkins, where he was instrumental in rede-
veloping its iconic down-town. His experi-ence in rede-velopment in that built-out city is among the qualities that would
qualify him for the position in Eden Prairie, he said. The other two finalists, according to reports, are current Hopkins city man-ager Rick Getschow and Ryan Schroeder, city admin-istrator for Cottage Grove. Mielke and the other fi-
nalists will meet residents of Eden Prairie on Jan. 19 and then the Eden Prairie City Council will make a final de-cision on Feb. 3
Manager vs. Administrator The positions are slightly different. Mielke said a city manager has the power to hire and terminate staff, whereas a city administra-tor must defer to a city council on such matters.
ting harder for students to get into universities, and pro-grams such as gymnastics and music allow students to set themselves apart. Good grades go a long way but there has to be more, she said. “Fine arts and non-tradi-tional sports are critical op-portunities and factors to a student’s success in the real world,” Rosenthal said. “An ‘A’ does not carry the same weight it once did.” Rosenthal’s sister is a fresh-man and gymnast at Lakeville South. “Gymnastics is what will set her apart from the other million students who have good grades or come from a middle-class, suburban high school,” Rosenthal said. “She needs this. I do not use the word ‘need’ lightly.” Some of the larger pro-posed cuts include closing an elementary school by fall 2012, likely in the northern part of the city, in addition to the aforementioned activities. Academically, the plan calls for eliminating nearly 100 full-time equivalent po-sitions (almost 94 of those are teaching positions). High school administrators said in their presentation they ex-pect class sizes to increase to the mid-40s to 50 students in some cases. “We looked at these bud-get adjustments from the perspective of creating a sys-tem that would serve children to the best of our abilities with the available resources,” Amoroso said at the Jan. 5 meeting. At the same meeting, Board Member Bob Erickson called the budget proposal “very humbling.”
Classrooms affected From the teachers’ union perspective, the first draft bal-ances the budget on the backs of the students. The district has 703.3 full-time equivalent teaching positions. The pro-posal to cut 93.55 represents a 13.3 percent cut in teachers, Education Minnesota Lakev-ille President Don Sinner said in an interview. The resulting class-size in-creases do not bode well for student achievement, Sinner said. With an average class load
of 185 students a day per teacher, Sinner said, “How much individual attention will each student really get? We have great teachers, but this will impact the quality of classroom instruction and will impact student achieve-ment.” Class sizes in kindergar-ten and first grade would be about 27 students, a figure Sinner finds appalling. “Elementary kids are very susceptible to class size,” he said. “They are less self-di-rected and need more mentor-ing and help from the teacher in the classroom.” Sinner said he and the teachers are formulating an alternative budget recom-mendation that will affect the classroom — and students — less. said the administrators’ pro-posed cuts are 77 percent at the classroom level, while classroom positions represent 60 percent of the district’s budget. The alternative plan would bring all stakeholders to-gether and would stretch the budget cuts over four years so as to not “dismantle in two months what we’ve been building for years.” The size of the budget defi-cit would have been smaller had voters not rejected levy questions asking for nearly $13.4 million in new taxes to fund operations and buy new computers, but district offi-cials and school board mem-bers recognize that those vot-ers have sent them a distinct message: austerity.
High school Administrators’ budget adjustment plan for the two high schools calls for cutting 14.7 teaching positions from Lakeville North and 15.3 from Lakeville South. Early-bird class offer-ings would be nixed. “Cen-ter-based programming,” in which students travel to each high school for specific courses, is also on the elimina-tion list as part of an overall $618,000 in transportation re-ductions districtwide. One physical education re-quirement would be eliminat-ed. The Geology and Space Systems class would be inte-grated into existing curricula. In terms of activities, both schools’ debate teams would
194 Budget/from 1A be eliminated, as would the one-act play, one of two dra-ma productions, chess and the Math League. About four and a half as-sistant coaching positions in fine arts and activities would be cut.
Middle school The budget-adjustment plan calls for a reduction of 9.6 teaching positions at each middle school, totalling al-most 30. The “teaming model” would be eliminated, along with a semester of social stud-ies. “The loss of teaming alters communications systems that formally ensured balanced student workloads, consis-tent classroom practices and collaborative learning inter-ventions,” middle school ad-ministrators said in their pre-sentation. Industrial technology classes would be eliminated. Physical education, health and music offerings would be curtailed. Music lessons would no longer be provided during the school day. The first draft budget proposal directly affects the structure of the school day for middle school students. Instead of the existing eight-period day, the new schedule would consist of a seven-pe-riod day with 54-minute class periods. Class sizes would range from 31 to 37 students. Among the middle school activities on the chopping block are band and vocal en-sembles, Destination Imagi-nation, Math Masters, Lego League, Literary Magazine and all club stipends (there would be more than 30 clubs eliminated).
Elementary school Demographic changes in Lakeville mean fewer elemen-tary students in some parts of town. Because of this, the budget
plan calls for $725,000 in sav-ings by closing one elementa-ry school by fall 2012. Bound-ary changes for elementary students would accompany this move. In terms of teaching po-sitions, the plan calls for 30 fewer than today. The end result would be as many as 35 students in classrooms in fourth and fifth grades. This would also mean elimination of fifth-grade band and re-duced physical education and art instruction by teachers not specifically licensed in those areas..
Athletics Middle and high school sports are certainly not im-mune to the axe. At the high school level, the budget plan calls for the elimination of 10 assistant coaching positions and one level of team sports at both Lakeville North and Lakeville South. In addition, the award- winning gymnastics and com-petition cheer teams, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse and boys’ and girls’ golf are all slated for elimination. In the middle schools sev-eral programs are slated to be cut: boys’ and girls’ swim-See 194 Budget, 10A
Letters to the editor policyThisweek Newspapers welcomes letters to the editor. Submitted letters must be no more than 350 words. All letters must have the author’s phone number and address for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. Letters reflect the opinion of the author only. Thisweek Newspapers reserves the right to edit all letters. Submission of a letter does not guarantee publication.
OpinionKeep the cheerTo the editor: I’m writing to offer my support of the Lakeville competition cheerleading program, as I understand budget restraints have re-cently rendered the program in jeopardy of being cut. My experience as a cheer-leader (1997-2000) has truly shaped my personal and professional life, and I con-sider it one of my greatest achievements while a student at Lakeville. I’m now a photo editor who has worked abroad in London, and I’m currently in Sydney. It seems a long way from the gym at Lakeville North where we used to roll out wrestling mats to practice on, but in many ways, I’m still that same girl, cheering for myself and my teammates as we tumble through life, to-gether.
Cheerleading is unlike any of the traditional programs that Lakeville is known for: It doesn’t attract the crowds that football does; it doesn’t have the glory of a champi-onship history like Science Olympiad. But what it does have is something none of those activities can match: a defining sense of team spirit, built by confidence in one an-other and in our individual abilities. When you’re getting thrown in the air, waiting for someone below to catch you, you learn how important trust, confidence, and team-work really can be. Although cheerleading has often been the victim of district budget cuts, and in spite of having other sports often prioritized over it, the program has continued to persevere. Because we weren’t given any practice space, my team moved tables aside to
practice in the lunchroom, or shared a field with the march-ing band while we practiced on the grass outside. Then we quietly, confidently won state championships. We modestly made our way to nationals. I commend Susan Link, Anne Larson, and other coaches and parents for mak-ing this possible. But beyond just awards, those involved in Lakeville cheerleading walk away from high school and begin their adult life with confidence, positivity, and an unwavering belief in teamwork. I know I did. I urge the School Board to reconsider ending this im-portant program, which is crucial to helping build confi-dence and positivity in many young people at Lakeville schools.
We can do better for our studentsTo the editor: Earlier this week, EM-Lakeville (representing the district’s teachers) shared with the board an alterna-tive draft of possible budget adjustments. Our version in-cludes parts of the district’s current draft, suggestions from EML, and some prior ideas from board members. This was done in the spirit of finding collaborative and creative solutions to the fi-nancial challenges the district now faces. EML believes the district’s current draft represents: a narrowing of curriculum which ignores the “whole child” and does not develop the individualized and unique talents and interests of many students; and cedes control of what Lakeville’s system of education will look like to the “minimums” required by the state. This is the opposite of the “local control” philoso-phy that the board currently believes in. The EML draft of budget suggestions represents four key principles. It contains long-term systematic change in the delivery model which will account for $11.8 mil-lion in savings over the next two years. It contains an increased workload for all employees currently working in the district. It makes a dis-tribution of cuts which is eq-uitable across all grade levels, curricular departments, and employee groups. And most importantly, it maintains al-most all of the student class-room opportunities currently afforded our students. In difficult times, the board must make sure it con-tinues to make decisions that are truly in the best interest of students. It cannot fall prey to all the political drama as-sociated with this economy. EML believes that its draft represents the needs of all the stakeholders’ voices in the community. Compared to the district’s first draft of adjust-ments, we can do better for students.
DON SINNEREducation Minnesota-Lakeville president
Time for the big, bad Burke to goTo the editor: I have been following the antics of Farmington School Board Member Tim Burke for the last few years through the local cable channel during the board’s televised meet-ings. Before being elected as a School Board member, Burke would voice his opinions re-garding board decisions dur-ing the board’s open forum sessions. Burke would chal-lenge every penny being spent along with questioning the board’s every move. His tact-less questioning and personal attacks on board members and administrative staff dur-ing these open forum sessions forced the board to change its open forum policy. Ironically, Burke, now a Farmington School Board member himself, is costing us taxpayers over $10,000
for investigative fees for his abusive actions as a board member. Burke has crossed the line multiple times over the years by bullying board members and staff, along with leaking closed-door in-formation to the public. His smug remarks at board meet-ings and his condescending attitude toward board issues/policies that he was not in fa-vor of are childish. Our best board members are leaving and our superintendent is in-terviewing elsewhere because nothing can get accomplished with Burke clogging each ar-tery as items come up. It’s time for Burke to go. Now that the Dakota County attorney’s office has opted not to charge Burke, it’s up to our city attorney, Joel Jamnik, to follow up on charges. I sincerely hope that Jamnik supports the Farm-ington School District staff and administration and puts this big, bad wolf in his place. I urge the public to get out your “Vote Go” signs and see that Burke doesn’t get a chance to create any more an-imosity through his antics as a Farmington School Board member. Burke should have to pay the investigation fees as a les-son to show some integrity when serving as a public of-ficial and to think before he speaks.
SCOTT ERICKSENFarmington
Think it throughTo the editor: In reference to the Jan. 7 edition of the Thisweek news-paper article about the new Lakeville mayor and council members and their inclina-tion toward being “business and development friendly,” it will be interesting how they translate that phrase into spe-cific actions to benefit Lakev-ille as a whole. As decisions are made, each Lakeville city project and expenditure should be evaluated based on aligning with the vision of Lakeville as both a desirable residential place to live and a location where businesses can thrive and desire to locate. Financial decisions should be evaluated with regards to expenses ver-sus revenues but also align-ment with a desirable place to live and work and the overall definition of what Lakeville wants to be known for. Decisions such as sell-ing a city-owned piece of land in 2009 assessed at over $627,000 to Image Trend for one-third (about $209,000) of its assessed value must be evaluated on the financial merits to the city of Lakev-ille. How long will it take for the city and taxpayers to re-coup the $418,000 discount, and what profit-loss financial evaluation was performed to justify this giveaway? Another example is the budget line item for almost $192,000 each year through 2014 for “DKM tax incre-ment financing rebate” for the DKM professional build-ing. This district was created in 1988, 22 years ago. Why is the city providing a four-year rebate of almost $760,000, and how is this recurring re-bate expense benefiting the
community and taxpayers? Another historical exam-ple was the sale of the 14.4 acres of property to New Morning Windows for $1. The property is now worth approximately $2.1 million (land only) 15 years later. Just as corporate boards of directors make decisions for commercial corporations, the city should evaluate finan-cial implications of each de-cision to determine the future revenue to be derived from a project as compared to the expenditure. And it should review other alternatives that provide tangible benefits to the city of Lakeville and all of its residents.
JIM REITTERLakeville
Something askewTo the editor: “Off with his head!” Little did I realize when moving to Farmington that I was following Alice down the rabbit hole. Things run a bit askew, a lot of things seem abnormal. The Farmington School Board in particular seems to be a small fiefdom that continually spends mon-ey belonging to others in pur-suit of personal goals. So the report on Tim Burke’s “crimes” is in, all 700 pages of it, at an extreme cost, and now it is the ugly gift that no one wants to keep. I can understand the City Council not wanting to handle this thing. I’m sure council members wish, like the taxpayers in the district, that the Farmington School Board had gone to the city attorney to begin with. Now this weighty report demands that something be done to justify the expanse and the expense of it. The City Council should correct the School Board’s error now, rather than later. If a crime has been commit-ted, there are resources to in-vestigate that fact. Set the 700 pages aside and do that inves-tigation. Then, if there are findings that there is indeed a crime, use the School Board report as a fact-finding docu-ment. This process gets the City Council out of the burden of someone else’s albatross, saves the taxpayers some money, and returns the effort to normalcy. And shame on City Attorney Joel Jamnik for suggesting that outside help is needed to avoid a con-flict of interest. The Farm-ington School Board has no say in his job. Board mem-bers should be treated like any other citizens. If Jamnik doesn’t have time to inves-tigate this, for what alleged crime does he have time? There were a few ear-lier comments that perhaps Burke has learned from this and the board will think on common lines in the future. If this was the intent of the investigation, this is as wrong as it can be. The citizens of Farmington deserve a School Board that will do the best for everyone, not be a rubber stamp for its leadership.
This is a summary of the IntermediateSchool District 917 Regular School BoardMeeting on Tuesday, December 7, 2010,with full text available for public inspectiono n t h e d i s t r i c t w e b s i t e a twww.isd917.k12.mn.us or the District Officeat 1300 145th Street East, Rosemount, MN55068.
The meeting was called to order at 5:00PM. Board Members Present: Dan Cater,Deb Clark, Jill Lewis, Kathy Lewis, TomRyerson, Vicki Roy, Vanda Pressnal l ,Veronica Walter. Board Members Absent:None. Administrators Present: NicolleRoush, Melissa Schaller, Dan Hurley, DonBudach. Others present: Theresa Bowlin,J im Eichten, Linda Berg. Good newsreports were presented. The following Con-sent Agenda items were approved: minutes,personnel, bills to be paid, and wire trans-fers. Theresa Bowlin and Amy O'Brien wereawarded the Special Education Teacherand Employee of the Fall Quarter. Recom-mended actions approved: Audit Report for2009-2010; Policy 405, Veteran's Prefer-ence; Resolution approving the Flex ChoicePlan Summary - all Board members votingaye; Salary and Benefits for Superinten-dent for 2010-2011. Adjournment at 6:16PM.2475704 1/14/11
The Board of Supervisors for the Town ofCredit River, Scott County, Minnesota, nowhereby ordains that on the 3rd day of Janu-ary, 2011, they adopted the above Ordi-nances. Due to the lengthy content of theprovisions, a brief Summary follows:
Section One: Authority - Identifies theauthorities used in preparation of said Ordi-nance
Section Two: Introduction - Identifies theboundaries and establishment of the Terri-tory Environmental Subordinate ServiceDistricts in Credit River Township
Section Three: Definitions - Clarifies lan-guage used in the Ordinance
Section Four: General Provisions andConditions - Identifies and clarifies theOwnership and Management of the DIS-TRICT CSTS SYSTEMS
Section Five: Rates, Charges and Con-nections to the District's System - Suchfees necessary to operate and manage theDISTRICT CSTS SYSTEMS and Landown-ers responsibilities for connection to thesystem.
Section Six: Damage to DISTRICT SYS-TEMS Prohibited - Identifies what is notallowed and could harm the DISTRICTSSYSTEMS
Section Seven: Violation(s) are a Misde-meanor - Consequences for violation(s) ofthis Ordinance and DISTRICT CSTS SYS-TEMS
Section Eight: Amendments or Changes- Process for amendments or changes toDISTRICTS Ordinance
Section Nine: Validity and Severability -Validity of the Ordinance should a provi-sion be declared invalid
Section Ten: Effective Date - Effectivedate of Ordinance
Ordinance 2011-1 Governing the Terri-tory Environmental Subordinate ServiceDistrict Wastewater Collection Systems;Ordinance 2011-2 Governing the MontereyHeights - South Passage EnvironmentalSubordinate Service District WastewaterCollection Systems; and Ordinance 2011-3
Governing the Stonebridge EnvironmentalSubordinate Service District WastewaterCollection Systems shall each take effectand be in full force immediately following itsadoption and upon publication. A copy ofthe Ordinance can be viewed during Town-ship office business hours. An additionalcopy of the Ordinance will also be on file atthe Prior Lake Public Library.
/s/ Leroy SchommerCredit River TownshipATTEST:/s/ Cathy HaughClerk, Credit River Township
2477682 1/14/11
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PUBLIC NOTICENEW MARKET TOWNSHIP, MINNESOTA
NOTICE OF INTENT TO CONSIDER
ISSUANCE OF A CABLE FRANCHISE
and
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
TO CONSIDER ISSUANCE OF
A CABLE FRANCHISE
Notice is hereby given that it is the intentof the Board of Supervisors of New MarketTownship, Minnesota, to consider issuanceof a franchise authorizing operation of asystem to provide cable service in theTownship. This notice is given in accor-dance with Minnesota law, Chapter 238.Notice is also given of a Public Hearingregarding the issuance of a cable franchisebefore the Township Board of Supervisorsat the Township Hall beginning at 7 P.M. on
January 31, 2011.
Any person seeking to provide cable ser-vice must submit an application. Copies ofthe official Application Instructions areavailable upon request at the TownshipHall, 8950 230th St., Lakeville, MN 55044.
1. Applications in response to this Noticemust be submitted to the Township by 5:00
P.M., January 27, 2011.
2. Applications must be in writing, nota-rized, and consistent with the applicationinstructions. Applicants must submit anoriginal and five copies of the application.
3. Each application shall be submittedalong with an application fee of $4,000.00in the form of a certified check made pay-able to New Market Township, Minnesota.
4. Applicants are requested to present ata public hearing before the Township Boardof Supervisors beginning at 7:00 P.M.,
January 31, 2011.
5. The minimum system design and ser-vices to be offered must meet or exceedthose required of the incumbent cableoperator pursuant to the Township’s exist-ing cable franchise. The desired designincludes a system: serving the Townshipbased on a reasonable service area/lineextension policy; capable of delivering inexcess of 100 video programmed channelswith the potential for increasing channels;providing a reasonable number of public,educational and governmental accesschannels and reasonable access support,and; providing connections and free ser-vices to the Township Hall. Desired opera-tions and services include: reasonablerates; a mix, level and quality of programsand services comparable to other systems,and; customer service and system mainte-nance plans to ensure the provision of highquality services to the subscriber.
6. Factors that will be considered inevaluating applications and making deter-minations are as follows:
a. Compl iance with the statutoryrequirements, this notice, and the Appli-cation Instructions available upon requestfrom the Clerk of the Township;
b. The proposed system design;c. The programs and services offered
initially and plans and processes foradding programs and services;
d. The initial service area and the lineextension policy;
e. The time for construction and/or ini-tial service provision;
f. Customer service policies and sys-tem testing;
g. The legal, technical, and financialqualifications of the applicant;
h. The proposal for community ser-vices, including public, educational, andgovernmental access and/or institutionalnetwork services; and
i. Other factors deemed relevant by theTownship.7. In no event will submission of a con-
forming application entitle any applicant toreceive a franchise and the Townshipexpressly reserves the right to reject bothconforming and non-conforming applica-tions.
8. Any applicant(s) selected by the Town-ship Board will be required to accept theFranchise granted within thirty (30) daysafter adoption. Applicants will be requiredto re imbu rse the Townsh ip fo r anyexpenses not covered by the applicationfee.
9. Any questions concerning applica-tions should be directed to: Town Clerk,Leroy Clausen, New Market Township,8950 230th St. E., Lakeville, MN 55044,facsimile 952-461-1930.
Dated: January 7, 2011.s/ Leroy Clausen
Leroy Clausen, Town ClerkPublished in: Lakeville Times, and NewPrague Times on January 7, 2011 andJanuary 14, 2011.2467802 1/7-1/14/11
Cody Lee Putnam were marriedat Crystal Lake Golf Course inLakeville, MN. October 2, 2010.
S a r a h i s t h e d a u g h t e r o fGwenda and Mark Cherry ofLakeville, MN; Cody is the son ofTamara and Arturo Mata ofCoon Rapids.
Sarah is a graduate of InverHills Community College and isemployed by Target and EdinaRealty. Cody is employed byTarget and currently serves in theArmy National Guard.
Patchin-Davenport
Katie Patchin and Ben Daven-port were married August 28th,2010 in Minneapolis at Minne-haha Park. A reception followedat Windows atop of the IDSbuilding.
After honeymooning in St.Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, thecouple currently resides in Sav-age, MN.
Weddings
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Forms for birth, engage-ment, wedding, anniversary and obituaries announce-ments are available at our office and online at www.thisweeklive.com (click on “Announcements” and then “Send Announcement”). Com pleted forms may be e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to Thisweek Newspapers, 12190 County Road 11, Burnsville, MN 55337. If you are sub-mitting a photograph along with your announcement, please only submit photo-graphs for which you have the right to permit Thisweek Newspapers to use and pub-lish. Deadline for announce-ments is 5 p.m. Monday. A fee of $25 will be charged for the first 5 inches and $5 per inch thereafter. They will run in all editions of Thisweek Newspapers. Photos may be picked up at the office within 60 days or returned by mail if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is provided.
6A January 14, 2011 THISWEEK
by Andy RogersTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Girls hockey has entered a new phase in the south metro. Gone are the days with one or two dominating teams with two or three su-perstars. Now every team seems to have a few go-to scorers, a tough defender and a stout goaltender and Lakeville North and South are right in the thick of it all. Lakeville North and South have battled it out with the likes of Eastview, Rosemount, Eagan and Burnsville this season and come out relatively un-scathed. “This has been one of these years where anyone can beat anyone,” Lakeville North coach Buck Koche-var said. “You’ll have to prepare a lot harder now than a few years ago.”
Lakeville South Head coach Perry Wilkinson had some of the highest praise yet for the Cougars in their sixth year. “This is the best team we have had at South,” he said. “Most people will evaluate that based on where we fin-ish but in terms of the mix of players we have, this is the best we have ever been.” They have more seniors than ever before includ-ing two Division I players, Morgan Fritz-Ward and Chelsea Laden, with Sam
Moore and Mara Post also drawing some college atten-tion. Defenders Lauren Grose and Nikki Jackson also earned high praise from Wilkinson. It’s a boom season for South. That said, Wilkinson feels the Cougars still haven’t found their groove. He said they’re just not fin-ishing off teams like they should. “We’re trying to do more than just win,” Wilkinson said. “We’re trying to be the best team we possibly can be and finishing is part of that.” It’s going to take a group effort to get there. “Our play has been in-consistent and that is due to effort, focus, and coaching,” Wilkinson said. “I think ev-eryone needs to do better. I know we can do better. We have not yet met our own expectations offensively or defensively. The Cougars are in the drivers seat in the South Suburban Conference, but they still have Eagan, Rose-mount and Eastview left on the schedule. “It’s going to take a lot of effort and a little bit of luck in order to take this conference,” Wilkinson said. “I wouldn’t count any-body out.” Much of it will rely on goalie Laden, who is up to the task. “She has carried us for stretches when we have been playing poorly,” Wilkinson said.” She expects a lot out
of herself and works very hard each and every day.”
Lakeville North The Panthers already have double-digit wins with nine games left. Last year they didn’t get to 11 wins until playoffs began, and that team qualified for state. “Earlier in the season my coaching staff all agreed that we were ahead of pace from last year,” Kochevar
said. “I really think we will be stronger come February ... that’s the plan anyway.” The Panthers are in the mix with Lakeville South, Eastview and Rosemount hovering around the top of the South Suburban Con-ference. The two losses to Lakev-ille South hasn’t kept North from the top. North lost to South 4-1
on Tuesday night at home completing the regular sea-son sweep. They could see each other again in the Sec-tion 1AA playoffs where they met last year in the fi-nals. The Panthers have al-ready beaten Eastview and Rosemount and they’ll meet one more time this season. “We play well when we get a lead,” Kochevar said. “If that happens again we should be in good shape. We do need to be playing better in our end of the rink. “The first half the sea-son we didn’t give up many shots. We have to get back to that part of the game again.” If a shot does get through the defense, goaltenders Dani Dexter and Cassie Al-exander have been ready. “Both are playing with more confidence this year and they support each other when the other one is play-ing,” Kochevar said. Christi Vetter and Alexis Joyce have continued to grow on the ice proving to be two of the more potent freshmen hockey players in the state. “Vetter gets to the net and makes havoc for the opponents,” Kochevar said. “Joyce is so smooth and has great ice sense. She can put that puck just about any place you want it to go. “Emily Yetzer has been our top defense in scoring too. She logs a lot of ice time for a reason.” Andy Rogers is at [email protected].
SportsStandings
Boys basketballTeam Conference Overall W L W LLakeville South 3 0 7 2 Eagan 2 1 8 2 Eastview 2 1 7 2 Burnsville 2 1 6 3 Apple Valley 2 1 5 5 Prior Lake 1 2 4 6 Rosemount 1 2 4 6 B Jefferson 1 2 3 6 Lakeville North 1 2 3 8 B Kennedy 0 3 5 6
Friday, Jan 14• Lakeville South at Prior Lake, 7:15 p.m. • Eagan at Lakeville North, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 18• Lakeville North at Burnsville, 7:15 p.m. • Lakeville South at Bloomington Jef-ferson, 7:15 p.m. Friday, Jan 21• Bloomington Kennedy at Lakeville South, 7:15 p.m.
Girls basketballTeam Conference Overall W L W LLakeville North 5 0 11 2 Eastview 4 1 10 3 B Jefferson 3 2 10 3 B Kennedy 3 2 6 6 Prior Lake 3 2 5 7 Rosemount 2 3 7 6 Burnsville 2 3 5 7 Eagan 2 3 5 8 Apple Valley 1 4 3 8 Lakeville South 0 5 1 12
Friday, Jan 14• Prior Lake at Lakeville South, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 18• Burnsville at Lakeville North, 7:15 p.m. • Bloomington Jefferson at Lakeville South, 7:15 p.m. Friday, Jan 21• Lakeville South at Bloomington Ken-nedy, 7:15 p.m. • Bloomington Jefferson at Lakeville North, 7:15 p.m.
Boys HockeyTeam Conference Overall W L T W L TBurnsville 5 0 1 7 4 1 Apple Valley 5 1 0 9 3 0 Eagan 4 1 1 9 3 1 B Jefferson 4 1 1 5 5 2 Lakeville South 3 2 1 5 4 1 Lakeville North 3 3 0 6 6 1 Eastview 3 3 0 5 7 0 Rosemount 1 5 0 4 9 0 Prior Lake 0 6 0 2 8 1B Kennedy 0 6 0 2 10 0
Saturday, Jan 15• Apple Valley at Lakeville South, 3 p.m. • Lakeville North at Rosemount, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan 20• Eastview at Lakeville North, 7 p.m.• Lakeville South at Bloomington Ken-nedy, 7:30 p.m.
Girls HockeyTeam Conference Overall W L T W L TLakeville South 10 1 1 14 2 1 Eastview 8 2 1 12 3 2 Rosemount 7 2 1 11 4 1 Lakeville North 6 3 0 11 4 0 Eagan 6 4 1 9 7 1 Burnsville 5 5 0 8 9 0 B Jefferson 3 7 0 7 11 0 Prior Lake 3 7 0 5 12 0 Apple Valley 2 8 0 5 12 0 B Kennedy 0 11 0 1 15 0 Saturday, Jan 15• Lakeville North at Rosemount, 3 p.m. • Apple Valley at Lakeville South, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 18• Eastview at Lakeville North, 7 p.m. • Lakeville South at Bloomington Ken-nedy, 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan 20• Hopkins at Lakeville South, 7:15 p.m.
Farmington Boys Basketball
Team Conference Overall W L W L Northfield 1 0 1 10 New Prague 0 0 9 2 Chaska 0 0 7 3 Red Wing 0 0 7 4 Farmington 0 0 5 6 Shakopee 0 0 4 5 Holy Angels 0 1 4 8 Chanhassen 0 0 3 7
Tuesday, Jan 18• Holy Angels Farmington at Holy An-gels, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan 21• Northfield at Farmington, 7:30 p.m.
Girls BasketballTeam Conference Overall W L W LFarmington 2 0 11 0 Shakopee 2 0 10 1 New Prague 2 0 8 3 Red Wing 1 1 10 2 Chaska 1 1 6 7 Holy Angels 1 2 5 8 Chanhassen 0 2 6 5 Northfield 0 3 5 5
Friday, Jan 14 • Farmington at Shakopee, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 18 • Holy Angels at Farmington, 7:30 p.m.
Boys HockeyTeam Conference Overall W L T W L T Holy Angels 4 0 0 7 3 0New Prague 4 0 0 7 6 0 Farmington 3 2 0 8 6 0 Northfield 2 2 0 5 7 0 Red Wing 2 3 0 2 10 0 Shakopee 2 4 0 3 9 0 Chaska 1 3 0 1 9 2 Chanhassen 0 4 0 2 7 1
Friday, Jan 14• New Prague at Farmington, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 18• Farmington at Chanhassen, 7:15 p.m.
Girls HockeyTeam Conference Overall W L T W L TFarmington 7 0 0 12 5 0 Chaska/Chan 5 2 0 12 7 0 Shakopee 4 2 0 10 7 1 Northfield 3 2 1 8 7 2 New Prague 1 4 1 7 10 1 Red Wing 1 5 1 7 9 1 Holy Angels 0 6 1 1 13 1
Tuesday, Jan 18• Blake at Farmington, 7:15 p.m.Friday, Jan 21• Farmington at Red Wing, 7 p.m.
Tigers tearing through their scheduleFarmington girls basketball team still without a loss
by Andy RogersTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
The Farmington girls basketball team is one of the few teams left in Min-nesota with an undefeated record. The Tigers are on an 11-0 run stretching back to No-vember, besting teams such as Owatonna, Rosemount, Lakeville South, Chaska, Red Wing and Chanhassen among others along the way. There are many reasons for the run, but one thing is for sure: It’s been a team ef-fort. “Probably the biggest (reason) is that you need dif-ferent kids to step up at dif-ferent times,” coach Jason Berg said. “Not everyone is going to play great every night, so it is important to have players pick each other up on nights when the going is tough.” The Tigers go nine deep, so if someone isn’t playing well, another can step right in. Taylor Meyer is leading the team in scoring, Jordan Bridges in rebounding and Elena Koch in assists. All
three are capable of doing scoring, rebounding or as-sisting when needed. One big reason is the de-fense. Only two teams, Red Wing and Chanhassen, were able to score more than 50 points against Farmington. The Tigers adjusted their game plan by not pressing as much. “We are a long, athletic team, so we are playing a little more conservative on defense,” Berg said. “ Really forcing teams to shoot con-tested perimeter shots and then getting the rebound. We have really made it hard for teams to score.” The girls have also latched on to a team-first mentality. “We have 12 kids that are committed to getting better in practice and doing what it takes to win during games,” Berg said. Our kids have re-ally figured out their roles and played to their strengths ... They really don’t care who gets the credit.” The season-opening win against Owatonna, which has all its starters back off a team that was two points
from going to state last year, got the Tigers heading in the right direction. Beating South Suburban Conference teams Rose-mount and Lakeville South along with the No. 3 Class AAA team Red Wing has only boosted their confi-dence. On Tuesday, the Tigers were relieved to get a 56-50 win against Chanhassen. “We did not play partic-ularly well, but really gutted out the last five minutes,” Berg said. “We were down three with about five min-utes to go and finished on a 16-7 run.” The goal for now is to win the Missota Confer-ence. “I don’t think there are any teams that you look at and say, ‘That is a win,’” Berg said. “All our games the rest of the way out will be a battle.” They still have to play Shakopee twice, New Prague twice, and Red Wing again.
Lakeville South’s Ari Reid, No. 17, keeps an eye on the puck while Lakeville North’s Taylor Flaherty, No. 19, defends. Lakeville South won the game 4-1.
Both North, South having best seasons in years
Tiger gymnasts set school recordsby Andy RogersTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
In a year of many firsts for Farmington gymnastics, the Tigers set a new school re-cord on Tuesday night during a dual meet with Northfield, one of the top teams in the state. The girls put together a score of 142.7, a school re-cord. It wasn’t high enough to beat Northfield’s 149.675, but it was still fun to get. “The girls had outstanding performances,” coach Lynn
Baumann said. “The crowd was on the edge of their seats with all the talent in the gym. “We broke two records and tied another; they were on fire. A little more polish-ing and I believe we still can go higher as a team.” Nadia Lorenz tied the school record in the vault with a 9.45, which was also the best at the meet. Terra Klima also broke her own school record in the bars with a 9.575. All-around, Kiana Lord
had Farmington’s top score at 35.775. Kylie Wharton wasn’t far behind at 35.275. This weekend the Tigers will welcome Austin, Minne-apolis South and Columbia Heights for an invitational starting at 11 a.m. on Satur-day. “We have a few new skills to add on Saturday for our in-vite, which will be lots of fun,” Baumann said.
Lake-Liners have some high kicks in mindLakeville North takes third in the conference
by Andy RogersTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
The Lakeville North dance team’s first meet with the newly formed South Sub-urban Conference proved to be a positive experience. Lakeville North was sec-ond in the jazz competition and fourth in the high kick. Those combined put the Lake-Liners at second in the South Suburban Confer-ence. Not a bad start for a team with high aspirations for 2011. “Our theme this year for the Lake-Liners is ‘Soaring to New Heights,’ ” coach Gena Buckley said. “We have been setting goals and trying to encourage our girls to really push to reach the next level.” Senior captains Kelsey VonEschen, Katie Stern-berg, Shannon Svobodny, and Alexa Jones and the rest of the Lake-Liners are refin-ing their routines to prepare for the Section 1AAA meet on Feb. 12 at Bloomington Kennedy. They spent time over the holiday break revamping both their kick and jazz rou-tines, changing choreogra-phy and formations. “We will continue to clean up both of our danc-es,” Buckley said. The Lake-Liners will perform at four basketball games in January, and they’ll host a Lake-Liners show with varsity, junior varsity and the B-squad at 7 p.m. on Jan. 22. They will also head to Mounds View for an invite on Jan. 29 in preparation for state on Feb. 18 and 19 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
“Of course it’s always our goal to go to state for both kick and jazz,” Buckley said. “But we also want to focus on continuing to improve our scores and our perfor-mances each time we are on the gym floor and finish out the season stronger than ever before.” They simply want to en-joy the journey for the last month.
South The Lakeville South dance team is young with just three seniors, but the Cougars continue to make steps toward improving their record. Performing in the South Suburban Confer-ence has been a challenge, but coach Kelly Colbert is pleased with the results. “They continue to make improvements from last year and will finish ahead of last year’s record,” Colbert said. South’s next exciting event this season is the CDT Dance Clinic “For the Love of Dance,” which will be held on Jan. 29 at Lakev-ille South. It’s a clinic for anyone grades kindergarten through eight, giving stu-dents a chance to train with the Cougar dance team. The Cougars will also perform their new sections/state routines as well as showcase the junior varsity dances. Some of the local dance studios will also pres-ent a few dances in the eve-ning show. For more information contact Sheree Seaver at (952) 469-4567 or [email protected].
North Nordic seventh at Mesabi East Invite Lakeville Nordic girls team skied to seventh place out of 67 teams at the Mesabi East Cross Country Invitational last weekend at Giants Ridge in Biwabik, which is the larg-est high school Nordic meet in the country. Michelle Fer-guson was the first Panther across the finish line coming
in fourth in the freestyle. The Lakeville South girls team finished in 23rd. Jane Kirby was the top placer for the Cougars at 32nd in the freestyle. The Panther boys team skied to 20th and Lewis Kunik was fourth best over-all in the freestyle. Lakeville South boys were 35th and Alex Panzer was 29th in the classic.
Panther girls sixth, Cougars seventh at Buck Hill Invite The Lakeville North girls Alpine team hung with the best teams in the state fin-ishing sixth at the 23-team Buck Hill Invitational in Burnsville last weekend. Briar Smith was the fast-
est skier for North placing 19th. Courtney Kavanaugh was 27th and Alex Knutson 43nd out of 170 girls. The Lakeville South girls team was close behind at seventh. Amanda Larson was the first skier down for South at 14th place. Hay-leigh Adams was 23rd and Amy Sullivan 33rd. The Lakeville North boys team finished in 11th
place out of 23 teams. Con-nor Croasdale was the top finisher coming in 10th for North out of 177 skiers. Matt Xi placed 17th, Mike Konietzko 34th and Bryce Kossack 39th. For Lakeville South, Jonathan Schwegman was the team’s top placer com-ing in 28th. The Cougars were 19th overall as a team.
Sports Briefs
THISWEEK January 14, 2011 7A
by Aaron VehlingTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
For Farmington public schools, 2010 was a period of School Board unrest, budget questions and some opportunity.
Tim Burke Conflict on the School Board came to a head in November, when Board Member Tim Burke’s col-leagues accused him of creating a hostile work en-vironment and bullying dis-trict administrators with ex-cessive information requests and clandestine blind copy-ing of e-mails. The board voted in favor of hiring an outside attor-ney to pore over hundreds of documents and interview several people to deter-mine if Burke had violated School Board bylaws and committed misconduct. In December, the in-vestigator, Jim Martin of a Minnetonka-based law firm, submitted his 700-page report to the district.
He found evidence of mis-conduct, including the pos-sibility that Burke may have disclosed closed-meeting personnel data, a misde-meanor. Based on a summary of the report, the board voted to censure Burke. The total cost of the in-vestigation was $10,000, after Martin discounted his billing by more than $4,000. Farmington schools at-torney Michael Waldspurg-er passed the case to the office of Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, which passed it to Farming-ton’s city attorney, who then decided to pass it to another city attorney so as to avoid any perceived conflict of in-terest. Burke has disputed the charges and spoken out against the investigation from the start. He has called the investigation a waste of taxpayer dollars. Burke attributes the ani-
mosity that led to the con-flict to his connection with the organization of a 2007 “vote no” campaign against a sports complex, in addi-tion to his being publicly against a levy referendum in 2007 and making requests for the contract of Super-intendent Brad Meeks in 2008. Burke was elected to the board that fall. Some portions of the re-port offer Burke some vali-dation. Apparently, at least some school district infor-mation was indeed withheld from him. According to the report, a district staffer said the district “intentionally delayed providing informa-tion to Mr. Burke and his cronies because they are not certain what he will do with it and to whom he will send the information.”
Board changes On Aug. 19, School Board Chairman Bob He-man resigned from his po-sition. He said he was de-voting too much time to
serving on the board and the workload became more than a part-time job. Working to maintain a balance between work and family, Heman said all his time off was devoted to the board. “My time was very re-warding, and I got to see a lot of changes throughout the district,” he said. “I have seen tremendous gains ev-erywhere in the district.” Heman served from 1994 to 2001, and returned in 2006 to run for the board when there was a lack of interest and an uncontested election. The School Board elect-ed then-Vice Chairwoman Veronica Walter the new chair. She was defeated in a re-election bid in Novem-ber. In September, Craig Davis was appointed to He-man’s seat on the board. Voters elected three new board members in Novem-ber: Tera Lee, Brian Treakle and Melissa Sauser. The
message to the district was clear: The residents want more transparency. Lee, a vocal Farmington parent and frequent Burke ally, fought for lower class sizes. She wants to keep more dollars in the class-room and thinks this should be a top priority for the board. Treakle campaigned on three main issues: fiscal re-sponsibility, lower class size and better communication. Sauser, like Treakle and Lee, campaigned on im-proved communication and transparency. Sauser has worked as a paraprofessional at all levels of education. Recently, Sau-ser worked as an English as a second language para-professional at Edina High School. She said her experi-ence working with students from different backgrounds compelled her to become active in the Farmington district’s strategic planning committee, of which she is
a member.
Facilities The district had about $18 million left from its 2007 capital levy referen-dum. It originally intended to build a sixth elementary school, but enrollment and population growth have slowed enough that this is no longer a viable option. Instead, the district decided to upgrade some of its old-est buildings so students in those schools have facilities more equal to those who at-tend the newer schools. Among projects pro-posed were upgrades to classrooms and installing a pool at the high school (which was part of the orig-inal plans). In an unrelated facilities matter, Farmington schools partnered with the city of Farmington to remodel the Schmitz-Maki Ice Arena.
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into the Board chambers and spilling out into the hall. Don Sinner, president of Education Minnesota-Lakeville (EML), the district’s teacher’s union, said teachers have indeed shared the pain. He counters Amoroso. Sinner said about 53 percent of the cuts have been teachers. The total number of District jobs lost in the last four years was 157, amounting to $6.5 million worth of cuts, Sinner said. The number of teach-ers cut in that time was 69 (or $3.4 million worth of cuts), he added. Over the past eight years, Sinner said, teacher cuts and pay freezes have amounted to $4.6 million. Teachers are “making sac-rifices,” he said, adding that his own pay is $700 less than it was two years ago. Sinner said that teachers’ workloads have increased. Eight years ago, when the budget-cutting process began, the average middle school teacher saw 135 students a day, Sinner said. Next year, the expectation is 185 stu-dents. “We’ve been part of the solution all along,” he said.
State Legislature Both Amoroso and Sinner laid much of the blame on the Minnesota Legislature, which is responsible for supplying a majority of a school district’s funds. Constant accounting shifts and cuts, Sinner said, have
made it so the burden of in-creased property taxes has left the community unable to approve levy dollars even if it wanted to. “It’s not that they (com-munity members) don’t like their schools,” he said, refer-ring to the recent vote against two of three levy referenda. “They just can’t afford to help anymore.” Amoroso said at the Jan. 11 meeting that he anticipates more funding reductions from the state. “With all due respect to our friends in St. Paul,” he said, “there will be a Year 11 and 12 (of cuts).” Sinner said the scenario leaves the state’s school dis-tricts in a “race to the bottom. The state isn’t getting the job done.”
An alternate plan EML’s alternate budget plan addresses a disparity Sin-ner sees in the district admin-istrators’ budget proposal: teachers comprise 60 percent of the district’s annual budget but are to receive 77 percent of the intended cuts and ad-justments. The EML plan still calls for a reduction in teachers and a slight increase in class sizes (by two students in mid-dle school and three at high school levels), so it is more of an edit of the adminstrators’ budget than a total rebuke. It offers up ways to save at least a portion of the Early Bird program at the high schools, among several other
things, through measures such as cutting one dean per high school and middle school, selling district land and increasing some activity fees (which the administra-tors’ budget also suggests). The cuts in deans alone could save about $600,000, accord-ing to EML’s budget docu-ment. Sinner also questions why the administrators’ budget proposal leaves out $2 million in federal Jobs Fund money that is intended to be used to save building-level positions, such as teachers, assistants and paraprofessionals. The consensus at the Jan. 5 meeting was that the board had not decided on how to use the money, so it was left out of the first draft. The funds must be used by Sept. 30, 2011, per federal law. EML’s plan includes that money, which it insists will save nearly 34 classroom posi-tions. Sinner said that the EML plan allows the district to save some of the programs that go beyond the very basic state re-quirements for learning. By reforming the system to adhere to the basics, the School Board cedes local control of curriculum to the State. “That’s not what has made Lakeville great,” Sinner said. “That’s not how we’ve built our demonstrated student achievement.”
ming, boys’ and girls’ in-house basketball, coed golf, the fitness center and soft-ball. Activity fees would in-crease under the plan. Hock-ey would cost $750 and vol-leyball and basketball would cost $500. Season passes would increase by $20, to $35.
Special education About 4.5 teaching posi-tions would be cut, in addi-tion to five full-time para-professional positions.
Tuition costs paid to Dis-trict 917 would be reduced by $300,000.
Plan is on website For the full first draft budget report, visit Dis-trict 194’s Website at www.isd194.k12.mn.us. The budget adjustments do affect some areas more than others, often because of federal and state man-dates. But the idea of a “new normal” falls short for Sin-ner. While he understands the importance of the bud-get situation, he sees a fatal
flaw. “We’re not paying it for-ward to our next genera-tion,” Sinner said. “We have to keep in mind that to be ef-fective and competitive, edu-cation is the way to win.” Next week, the District will discuss the second and third drafts of the bud-get- adjustment proposal at meetings at 5 p.m. on Jan. 18 and 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 20, both at the Lakeville South Auditorium.
Has no knowledge of Dayton “I have zero firsthand knowledge of him (Dayton) – I’ve never met him, I’ve never talked to him,” said Holberg recently. “The one key difference is, he can’t force us to send (him) a tax increase,” she said of the Republican-con-trolled Legislature. “Dayton can’t pull money out of the cushions in the Capitol,” Holberg said. Holberg does not ex-pect lawmakers to attempt to solve the state budget crunch through hefty state fee increases. “I don’t think there’s big appetites for bringing in a lot of new money to the state no matter what you call it,” Holberg said. “Whether it’s a fee or a tax, it comes out of someone’s pockets.” One area of compromise with Dayton could be on downsizing the Minnesota Legislature, Holberg said. For 12 years, she has been trying to pass legisla-tion that in effect would trim a number of Senate and House seats.
Every dollar will count, says Holberg “It’s modest in its ap-proach. But it’s a willing-ness to look at ourselves as well,” Holberg said. “We’re in a situation where every dollar is going to count. It all adds up.” Touching on other bud-get issues, Holberg ex-pressed concern over Day-ton’s recent application for early enrollment into a fed-eral health care program for the poor. Democrats lauded the move for bringing in more than $1 billion for state health care providers. But Holberg remains cool. “It (federal funding) al-ways comes with strings, and all you have to do is look at special education to know they don’t follow
Holberg/from 1A through on their promises,” she said. “Never have they lived up to their promises.” Holberg served as chair of the transportation fi-nance committee and was appointed Ways and Means Committee chairwoman when the Republicans took control of the House.
Personal responsibility, faith-based social initiatives She talks of Minnesota getting back to the notion of personal responsibil-
ity, of faith-based social initiatives, rather than looking to government for solutions. “We can’t afford it,” she said of a perceived culture of en-titlement. Republicans want to move quickly this session. “We’re looking to have final bills to the governor in early May, with plenty of time for negotiations,” Holberg said. To view part of the Holberg interview, visit: http://www.youtube.com watch?v=OKlBSjzGivY.
Comedy Cathy Ladman with special guest Ron Lamprect at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14, and 8 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, at the MinneHAHA Comedy Club, 251 W. Burnsville Parkway, Burnsville (lower level of Carbone’s), (612) 860-9388, www.minnehahacom-edyclub.com. Tickets are $12.50 (early show) and $9 (late show). On deck for Jan. 21-22: Dennis Ross with special guest “Ole.”Theater “Antigone” presented by Envision Academy of the Arts at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Black Box Theatre at Burnsville Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students; avail-
able at ticketmaster.com. Infor-mation: (952) 895-4685. “Peter Pan” presented by the Burnsville Civic Light Opera Jan. 21-23 on the main stage at Burns-ville Performing Arts Center. Tick-ets are $25/$15 adults, $20/$15 seniors, $15/$15 students; avail-able at ticketmaster.com. Infor-mation: (952) 895-4685. Classes/workshops Dan Petrov Art Studio in Burnsville offers oil painting classes for beginners, interme-diate and advanced skill level painters. Register online at www.danpetrovart.com or call (763) 843-2734. Teens Express Yourself with Paint, 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays, win-ter/spring and summer at Brush-works School of Art in Burnsville. Register online at www.Brush-worksSchoolofArt.com or call
(651) 214-4732. Join other 55-plus adults at the Eagan Art House to create beaded jewelry. The Jewelry Club meets on the third Friday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. Class fee is $3 per person and includes all supplies. Bring any old jewelry you would like to re-make. The Eagan Art House is located at 3981 Lexington Ave. S. For more information, call (651) 686-9134. The Eagan Art House offers classes for ages 4 through adult. For class and registration infor-mation, visit www.cityofeagan.com/eaganarthouse or call at (651) 686-9134. Soy candle making classes held weekly in Eagan near 55 and Yankee Doodle. Call Jamie at (651) 315-4849 for dates and times. $10 per person. Presented by Making Scents in Minnesota.
Country line dance classes held for intermediates Mondays 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Rambling River Center, 325 Oak St., Farm-ington. Cost is $5 per class. Call Marilyn at (651) 463-7833. Beginner country line dance classes on Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Lakeville VFW, 8790 Upper 208th St. $5/class. Call Marilyn (651) 463-7833. Country line dance classes on Wednesdays at the Lakeville Senior Center, 20732 Holt Ave. Beginners, 9-10 a.m.; Intermedi-ate, 10 a.m.-noon. $5/class Call Marilyn (651) 463-7833. The Lakeville Area Arts Cen-ter offers arts classes for all ages. For class and registration infor-mation, visit www.lakevillemn.gov or call the Arts Center office at (952) 985-4640.
To submit items for Thisweek-end’s Music Calendar, e-mail:
p.m., Jo Jo’s Rise & Wine, 12501 Nicollet Ave., Suite 100, Burns-ville, (952) 736-3001. Joshua Kloyda, 8-11 p.m., The Ugly Mug Coffee, Bar and Grill, 18450 Pilot Knob Road, Farmington, (651) 463-6844.
Saturday, Jan. 15 Peabody, Bogart’s Nightclub, 14917 Garrett Ave., Apple Valley, (952) 432-1515. Sum of All, 9:30 p.m., Neis-en’s Sports Bar and Grill, 4851 W. 123rd St., Savage, (952) 846-4513. Chris Lawrence, 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Rudy’s Redeye Grill, 20800 Kenrick Ave., Lakeville, (952) 469-0711.
Urban Jazz Experiment, 7:30 to 10 p.m., Jo Jo’s Rise & Wine, 12501 Nicollet Ave., Suite 100, Burnsville, (952) 736-3001.
Fu-Ga-We Tribe, 8-11 p.m.,
The Ugly Mug Coffee, Bar and Grill, 18450 Pilot Knob Road, Farmington, (651) 463-6844.
Sunday, Jan. 16Ouchard Piano Trio Coffee
Concert, 2 p.m., Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville, (952) 985-4640.
Neisen’s Sports Bar and Grill, 4851 W. 123rd St., Savage, (952) 846-4513.
Friday, Jan. 21Arch Allies, Bogart’s Night-
club, 14917 Garrett Ave., Apple
Valley, (952) 432-1515.High & Mighty (front) and
The Pearl (back), 9:30 p.m., Neisen’s Sports Bar and Grill, 4851 W. 123rd St., Savage, (952) 846-4513.
Skitzo, Babe’s Music Bar, 20685 Holyoke Ave., Lakeville, (952) 469-5200.
Good for Gary, Primetime Sports Bar & Grill, 14103 Irving Ave. S., Burnsville, (952) 435-6111.
Mark Mraz, 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Rudy’s Redeye Grill, 20800 Kenrick Ave., Lakeville, (952) 469-0711.
Stoned Acoustic, 7:30 to 10 p.m., Jo Jo’s Rise & Wine, 12501 Nicollet Ave., Suite 100, Burns-ville, (952) 736-3001.
East of Innocence, 8-11 p.m., The Ugly Mug Coffee, Bar and Grill, 18450 Pilot Knob Road, Farmington, (651) 463-6844.
by Andrew MillerTHISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Stew Thornley remembers the first Minnesota Twins game he attended like it was yesterday. Thornley can still tell you who was pitching and who the big hitters were in that game against Cleveland he attend-ed with his father in 1962. “My dad was a big fan, and I was a fan right from the beginning – as soon as I was old enough to understand the rules,” said the author of more than 40 books, mostly sports-related titles, including “Baseball in Minnesota: The Definitive History.” Thornley has bolstered his “baseball fan” resumé in a big way since that first Twins game almost 50 years ago. Employed as a health educator with the Minnesota Department of Health, he also works as one of two offi-cial scorers for the Minnesota Twins, and as a “datacaster” – doing pitch-by-pitch data entry at Twins home games
– for the Major League Base-ball website. In that capacity, he attends almost every Twins home game each season. As a fan, he’s been to at least one home
game of every Major League team, and has attended games at about 25 minor league ballparks. And if there’s any doubt about Thorn-ley being a true fan, know that he owns a pair of cats named
“A-Rod” and “Jeter.” His first book, “On to Nicollet: The Glory and Fame of the Minneapolis Millers,” was published in 1988. Since then, he’s written a host of athlete biographies geared toward young readers (including ones on Brett Fa-vre, Randy Moss and Kobe Bryant), collaborated with famed local sportscasters Ray Christensen and Herb Carneal on their autobiogra-phies, and even published a book about one of his other hobbies – grave hunting. “Six Feet Under: A Graveyard Guide to Minne-sota,” locates the final resting
places and tells the stories of more than 375 notable Min-nesotans. As a graveyard-hunting hobbyist, Thornley has visited the graves of 40 U.S. presidents (all the dead ones) and, not surprisingly, has sought out the burial plot of nearly every member of the Baseball Hall of Fame who’s died. Thornley is set to speak Jan. 18 at the Robert Trail Li-brary in Rosemount as part of the “Meet the Author” se-ries hosted by the Rosemount Area Arts Council. His pre-sentation will focus mainly on his research and writing process, he said, but he will be happy to discuss and field questions about baseball and his work as an official scorer/datacaster. Thornley will be the fifth speaker in the author series,
which the arts council started in 2009. Past speakers in the series have been Craig Macintosh, author of the World War II suspense novel “The Fortu-nate Orphans” (and illustra-tor of the syndicated comic strip “Sally Forth”); longtime Golden Gophers sports an-nouncer Ray Christensen; former Star Tribune political reporter Betty Wilson; and LG Bradshaw, author of the novel “Dot to Dot.” Thornley, of Roseville, maintains a website, which includes a full bibliography, at www.stewthornley.net. His books are available through online booksellers such as Amazon.com and Barne-sandnoble.com.
Minnesota writer lives and breathes baseballProlific sports author/official scorer for Minnesota Twins to speak at Robert Trail Library
Thornley
Author and baseball buff Stew Thornley will speak at 6:30 p.m Tuesday, Jan. 18, at the Robert Trail Li-brary in Rosemount as part of the “Meet the Author” series presented by the Rosemount Area Arts Council. The event is free and open to the public.
IN BRIEF
Jay Leno to perform at Mystic Lake Jay Leno, comedian and host of “The Tonight Show,” will perform at 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at Mys-tic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake. Tickets are $67. Con-tact the box office at (952) 496-6563 or go to mysticlake.com for more details.
Zoo offers ABC event Jan. 15-17 The Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley will come alive during Animals, Books, and Children (ABC) Weekend, Jan. 15-17, with an appear-ance by costumed character Snoopy. ABC Weekend is designed to teach children the impor-tance of animals and conser-vation through literature. It also offers children the oppor-tunity to make animal pop-up books, listen to zookeeper animal stories, and have fun with hands-on activities. Schedule: Animal story time, 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; meet Snoopy, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; zookeeper talks, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; make animal pop-up books, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; guest author Ian Pun-nett, 1:30 p.m. (Jan. 17 only). For more information, call (952) 431-9500.
Ralphie May tickets on sale Tickets go on sale Jan. 14 for comedian Ralphie May’s 8 p.m. show on Saturday,
‘Art’ comes to Burnsville The Chameleon Theatre Circle will present the come-dy “Art” Jan. 28 through Feb. 13 at the Burnsville Perform-ing Arts Center. “Art” tells the story of three friends whose relation-ship is tested by their radi-cally different reactions to a work of art. Friday and Saturday per-formances begin at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday performances begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for seniors, students, and groups of eight or more. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, at ticketmaster.com, or by call-ing (800) 892-2787.Galactic Cowboy
Orchestra The Lakeville Area Arts Center will present The Ga-lactic Cowboy Orchestra on Friday, Jan. 14, at 7:30 p.m. This progressive bluegrass band fuses its music with jazz and world elements. The en-semble puts on a multimedia show including short films and projected graphics fea-turing animated Hubble tele-scope imagery. Tickets are $15 and are available at the Lakeville Area Arts Center, 20965 Holyoke Ave. For tickets or additional information, call (952) 985-4640.
March 12, at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center. Tick-ets are $29.50 and can be pur-chased in person at the box office, at ticketmaster.com, or by calling (800) 892-2787.
