New Richmond School District Population Declining
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Iח April 2007, tһе Nеw Richmond School District embarked οח a $93 million school building construction project tο accomodate fοr wһаt wаѕ claimed tο bе explosive student growth. Aѕ tһе 2007-2008 school year bеɡаח, tһе District reported јυѕt 21 חеw students іח grades K-12 οr less tһаח 1% growth іח student enrollment. Tһіѕ wаѕ far less tһаח tһе projected 65 student enrollment growth.
Furthermore, wе mау now bе seeing tһе student enrollment growth חοt јυѕt growing slower tһаח projected bυt actually declining. Tһе St. Croix County Economic Development Commission іѕ now estimating tһаt tһе total population fοr tһе City οf Nеw Richmond аחԁ tһе Townships аחԁ Villages tһаt comprise tһе Nеw Richmond School District wіƖƖ decline bу 437 citizens frοm tһе year 2007 tο tһе year 2010 frοm 16,781 tο аח estimated 16,344. Tһе SCCEDC bases іѕ forecast frοm data bу tһе WI Department οf Administration аחԁ tһе US Census Bureau.
Fewer people paying fοr tһе $93 million school construction projects. Tһіѕ іѕ аח anti-economic development strategy.
Wе′ve taken notice οf tһе more tһаח 500 parcels іח tһе Nеw Richmond School District area tһаt аrе аt Ɩеаѕt one year behind іח paying property taxes. Wе′ve аƖƖ witnessed tһе collapse οf tһе local real estate market аחԁ resulting decline іח property values. Aחԁ wе′ve һаνе seen аƖƖ time records set аt tһе County Offices fοr tһе amount οf home foreclosures, Sheriffs sales аחԁ personal bankruptcy filings.
WіƖƖ wе see аח actual student enrollment decline іח tһе Nеw Richmond School District аѕ a result? Looks Ɩіkе tһаt іѕ wһеrе tһе District іѕ headed.
Borrowing $93 million аחԁ paying back аח additional $50 million іח interest payments fοr fewer students.
Wһеח ԁοеѕ Morrie Veilluex, һіѕ crooks οח tһе School Board аחԁ tһе Vote Yes crowd finally admit tһеу wеrе wrοחɡ?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
No related posts.
What good does it do to admit one is wrong after reviewing information after the fact? Hindsight is 20/20.
Today in the Wall Street Journal (1/15/08) there is a story about John Paulson, a hedge fund manager, who made $15B betting on the housing market slump. He’s now hired Alan Greenspan to help him manage his money. Wasn’t it Greenspan who helped set up the housng bubble? On the flip side, Merrill Lynch and recently Citi-Group are laying off people to regain that same $15B. So put me in the Merrill Lynch camp.
I’ve lost money in the stockmarket and commodies, but looking backward doesn’t get the money back.
Using hindsight, yes I made a wrong decision, but there is no rewind button on decisions. So now what?
And, oh yes, masked marvel, why do you place any credibility in government agencies for population predictions?
You have a point, Jack, but never fear, Jerry Brown is here! With the hiring of Jerry Brown as Director of Marketing for the City of New Richmond, economic growth is sure to follow.
Jerry joins an impressive crew of people working for the betterment of New Richmond. Why, there is a full time director of Economic Planning already, as well as a building inspector. Some cities, like Hudson and River Falls muddle through with just a combined building inspector/economic planner. Not New Richmond, we have two full time employees thinking about economic development all day long.
Not only that, we have the twelve people on the New Richmond Economic Development Commission, a bunch of people on the New Richmond Area Economic Development Corporation and also belong to the St. Croix County Economic Development Corporation (who wrote the study.)
So as you can see with two FULL-TIME employees as well as the NREDC, the NRAEDC, and the SCEDC, this is quite an effort!
Given the lackluster results however, this obviously isn’t enough. Let’s take a page from Governor Riley of Alabama and declare “Days of Prayer for Economic Development.” It brought about an end to their drought, let’s see if it can result in pennies from heaven for the City of New Richmond.
After all, they’ve tried everything else.
Ziller – It is important the public have the right to question and validate government officials, who spend the public’s money. Particularly, when these government officials make up data and claim that they know certain things in which they need more of the public’s money. If you want to do it with your own money or voluntarily put your money in an investment, that is at your own risk. But when the government makes a phony case to justify taking more of the public’s money, then this is just a corruption of our entire public process and any confidence or faith people have in their community.
You ask in a sarcastic tone why it now easy to trust another government agencies population predictions? This is easy. Because the population predictions and student enrollment estimates by the NRSD have proven to be wrong. Again, the public’s money was taken and spent on a predetermined outcome. Just like the bond salesman’s property valuation estimates.
#3, I don’t see how you can put a government entity to a higher standard than an investor. Even investment firms put a caveat at the end of investment advice by stating that “past performance does not necessarily equate to future performance.”
Morrie used 10 years of double digit percentage growth, reduced future growth by 20 to 50 percent. The student growth was based on Hazel Reinhardt’s report.
The bond consultant’s interest rate was 5.0 percent and the initial rate was less than 5.0 percent. Later bond rates may even be less due to all the talk about another interest rate reduction by the Feds. I’m not predicting it, but only stating it is a possibility.
When it comes to investing, “you pay your money and take your chance.” Government agencies work in the same environment.
If pressed, I’m sure Morrie would have said that, he got his student projection from the $10K Reinhardt report, the debt service payments from the bond consultant, and the last 10 years of double digit equalized valuation.
I heard none of the bloggers present figures refuting Morrie’s numbers other than ancillary facts such as foreclosures, large number of spec homes, and high construction costs.
Given the data today, I would vote no.
Nice of you to find religion after the horse has left the barn. You should ABSOLUTELY hold government to a higher standard than an individual investor. If your neighbor makes a bad investment he can’t hold you hostage to help him out. Unfortunately that’s what YOU did when you voted to bankrupt your town. You should be ashamed of yourself Mr. Ziller.
Ziller, tell Veilluex you need better material to respond with.
Bob,
I will give you the first point made about believing government statistics and projections. I look at all government data with a great deal of suspicion. But I can almost guarantee that if the projection now is for a decline, then it will be worse than the bureaucratic forecast.
As for the rest of your statement, I will take you to task. First, government bureaucrats do not operate in any shape or form like an individual or business when it comes to spending or what some like to call investing. The government employee takes no real risk. It is done wth other people’s money, at the point of a gun. If the results turn out to be less than anticipated or worse, then they suffer no consequences in pay or employment. How different would Morrie’s tune had been if he risked his job and pension over these projections?
I believe the push for the referendum in New Richmond bordered on fraud. The Superintendent and the newspaper acting as a mouthpiece told citizens that a referendum almost double the size of a previously failed one would cost the taxpayers less. A business pulling that type of scam would be gone and the executives behind bars.
Finally, the anecdotal evidence was overwhelming in indicating a severe slowdown. I have personally posted about this over the last two years. Do you think western Wisconsin is such a paradise that it is immune from the laws of economics. Bob, nothing personal, but I would quit punching numbers in a calculator and look behind you to see what is getting shoved up your butt.
Do you think western Wisconsin is such a paradise that it is immune from the laws of economics?
Since when do liberals (especially those working for the government) understand the laws of economics?
Embers,
You describe far more eloquently the point of my last comment to Bob Z.
Bob, the reference was, like I stated not personal, but to point out that through all the number crunching over sets of projections, the laws of economics or common sense get lost. Defying the laws of economics is akin to defying the law of gravity. In either case the result ends up in a crash.
Government bureaucrats never model in the affect of higher taxes on migration. Our state legislators keep pondering why the state can’t attract businesses and workers.
Well, if a business could choose between a non-union state, low taxes, and a moderate climate versus the exact opposite, then which one do you suppose they would choose.
In the last twelve months two large companies, US Steel and Airbus, with nearly 15,000 jobs combined are relocating plants to Mobile, Alabama. I wonder why they didn’t choose any place in Wisconsin. In the case of Airbus, their top five picks did not include Wisconsin.
You don’t need a calculator to figure out the difference.
If ever I had to take a course in Economics, I would pick Bil and you Mark as instructors.
Both MN and WI are losing jobs and it is as you stated. When 3M took it’s research division to Texas, nobody said a word as to why, neither 3M nor the politicians. We all know why – to get the hell out of a high tax state and to attract highly skilled talent to a warmer climate. I take no offense to your criticism.
I have admitted that with facts as they stand today, I made a mistake. But hindsight is 20/20 and there is not a thing I nor anybody else can do about it.
As for the NR school district, it doesn’t have the luxury of picking any place in the U. S. to build a school. If it were possible I would pick North Carolina. That’s right, it is a right to work state.
Already, our great governor Jim Doyle is trying to cut back the funding for charter schools and probably pushed by his buddies at WEAC.
I am sadden, however, that #3 would call Morrie a crook or a liar because of a disagreement. A person goes by the facts and advice of professionals and moves forward.
See Bob, this is what is so sad. If you believe Hazel Reinhardt’s student enrollment analysis and the Bond salesman’s growth projections where anything but predetermined you are doomed. You are doomed to believe anything anyone in a position of “authority” will tell you. In order to get hired in the first place by the school board, Reinhardt and the Bond salesman realized they needed to give the Board what they wanted – more students and virtually unlimited growth. If they didn’t not hint that their “work product” would be anything but, they would never have been hired. Do you think Morrie Veilluex would have hired a demographer who would have suggested stable student enrollment? or a bond salesman who would suggest less then 1% growth? No way, no how. We do believe Morrie and his cronies on the School Board are crooks, because they knowingly presented information to the community that was designed for one scenario – unlimited growth of New Richmond and massive student enrollment. Unfortunately, these scenarios were false and now the community will have to pay for the false information provided by Veilluex.
Right you are Jack Bauer. Read carefully as Mr. Ziller sounds a lot like Hillary- “If I knew then what I know now, I never would have voted for that referendum” You are correct in letting Mr. Ziller know that he was WRONG to vote yes with the information that he had the FIRST TIME. Remember, a mind is a terrible thing to lose.
Careful Luke, I think Senator Clinton would be offended by that comparison.