Last Word Before the School Board Election

A key part of Candidate and School Board Chair George Thole's re-election strategy has been to tell voters about how he'd "sell" local voters on supporting the upcoming school levy.

Thole's strategy, he says, is to convince local voters that the levy is a mere 'replacement' levy, not a demand for more of our money. The implication is that local families will not be asked to give up any additional money when the next levy comes around.

Thole is wrong of course, because the voters will be asked to pay the school levy in addition to an 8% hike in local taxes they face because of the conservative policy coming down from St. Paul. Plus the GOP's regular fee hikes, plus the tobacco tax hike, plus the ongoing conservative policy of shifting the tax burden to local communities.

Thole's "strategy" is ultimately based on the notion that local voters can't count.

If Thole is re-elected, I hope he is successful in his efforts to beg more money from locals already facing Republican tax hikes. School services shouldn't suffer just because Thole has such a low opinion of voter intelligence.

I wonder if Kate Carlsen will get any write-in votes tomorrow? I hope not, but maybe some voters will resent the way that better known "stealth" conservatives like Thole and Rheinberger shouldered Carlsen out of the primary and prevented a true grassroots conservative from appearing on the ballot.

Let's vote!