To the Editor,

Let me start by saying I am in favor of our school, but I am not in favor of this school project/referendum.

A little background. My wife Kathy and I are both graduates of Henning High School as are our two sons, one graduating in 1996 and the other in 1999. They were in school for the last building project. We have made the city of Henning our home for nearly 50 years, with Kathy being a life-long resident. I was a school board member during the 1995-96 project and a school board representative on the building committee. I attended many meetings on the building project, some on short notice, with the architect, contractors and administration to go over issues as they came up. I was at the school, on my lunch break from my job, the day a part of the wall of the old gym and classrooms above it fell the wrong way and went through the roof of the band/choir room. As stated when Elon Musks’ Starship blew up the other day it was a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” Repairs were done and life went on.

The main item on the referendum that I oppose is the addition to the front of the school. I asked Supt. Sparks on March 30 for more information and specs on the addition and also for drawings depicting the addition on the front of the school. I have yet, over 3 weeks later, to hear back anything from her regarding my requests. I would ask the Citizen’s Advocate to request from the school or architect drawings of the addition and to publish them in the Citizen’s Advocate May 2, 2023 issue for everyone to be able to judge the viability of the addition before the referendum vote. I would like them to show drawings from both sides showing the addition at the proper floor elevation and how it sits in relationship to the streets, School Ave. and 2nd St.

I do not believe we should be cutting off School Ave. It is one of the widest streets in the city and rightly so for student safety. There also is the issue of city utilities that run under the portion of the street that the addition is planned to go. I believe there are water mains, septic mains, probably storm drain mains, natural gas lines and also, I believe, a fiber optic line that was installed in the 90s for the school to get high speed Internet. A concern would be the cost of repairs or replacement for the city if there were issues in the future with these utilities.

Also, I would believe by now everyone has probably gotten and seen their 2024 Property Tax Valuation Notice. As I sated in my last letter, the amount of tax increases that is shown on the mailings received and on the OurSchoolOurHornets.org website were only good for the first year. I’m not sure why they are using Estimated Market Value (EMV) on the estimates they are showing, because taxes are generally based on the Taxable Market Value (TMV). I don’t know what everyone else’s EMV and TMV went up, but from 2022 to 2024 my EMV went up 60 percent and my TMV went up about 75 percent. There have been no improvements done on our property for many years. Also, I heard people say their lake shore property values were lowered from 2023 to 2024. Does that mean we who do not own lake shore property are subsidizing those who do? If everyone’s taxable values keep going up, so will your property taxes.

I thank everyone that took time to read this and ask yourself if this really is the best we can do as a plan for the future of Henning Public Schools. I, myself do not think so. Please consider the points I have brought up and vote No, No on this referendum.

Respectfully,

Dale Koski,

Henning