1994-1995 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

Alternatives: Proposals For Local Governments Struggling With Limited Resources

Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

Teacher: Galen R. Boehme

1st Angie Chamberlain  2nd Davida Eubank  3rd Matthew Swager

"Your approach this year certainly created a challenge. Completing the essays took more time--but the gains have been worthy. The students produced a higher quality of writing on the introductory essays that I assigned. Furthermore, the students have a much better appreciation for the volunteer and community efforts going on about them; efforts that before very few students knew about."
Teacher-------Dr. Galen Boehme, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"The reduction in costs results from paying for the revisions over an extended period, instead of all at once. This would alleviate part of the funding obstacles. Networking will also help this. In conjunction with the school, the hospital, the city library and court system can be included to help spread the cost and reduce the burden on the taxpayers of Kinsley."
Davida Eubank, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"[Upgrading] education was the number one [topic] picked on the survey. We, as a class, then brainstormed a list of items relating to education. É [We came up with] attendance, discipline, the selected school officials, more variety of classes and better communication. Each student picked three areas and named the merits, the demerits and then gave possible alternatives. In groups of five we listed the merits, the demerits, the alternatives and a purpose for each activity. The topics picked were library use, more variety of classes, update of school facilities, and ITV [Interactive Television]. Before voting on one topic, Mr. Dunn and Mr. Swager, school administrators, gave information on all topics. We voted on the topics and ITV won."
Kellie Gartung, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

Students hosted public officials and absorbed an enormous amount of information:
"We decided [to] write about something which we feel strongly [about and] É which interests the community as well. Therefore we invited several panels of speakers to address the way the local tax dollars are spent and to give their views on how the tax money could best be put to public use. These panels included our mayor, several county commissioners, a city manager and other influential individuals of our area. These members spoke on tax-supported services now existing in our community and ways they felt these could be better managed in order to cut expenditures while still providing the same level of service."
Bryan Bennett, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"Marsha Haxton, the Kinsley city manager, stated that out of all the local taxes we pay, 73 percent goes to the city. Most of this money is used for bills, maintenance and buildings. Once this amount is taken out, there's not much left to divide among the several community services that are tax-supported. For example, the library asks for $12 million, but the city can only afford to give it $6 million. Mary Fox, a member of economic development, reported that 90 percent of the money that economic development receives comes from the Kansas lottery. This group helps the hospital, the Emergency Medical System, Home Health and the Midway Clinic."
Beth Schaller, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"A county commissioner, Richard Froetschner, and the county clerk, Pam Meadows, explained how the tax dollar is valued as well as how it is used. Mrs. Meadows discussed the ways in which the tax levy is figured to meet the necessary budget. Each subdivision is required to file its budget in August to meet budgetary needs. Mr. Froetschner helped us to understand the need for taxes. É The American Disabilities Act required advancements in our community [which] required tax dollars."
Micha Renee Habiger, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"Edwards County services 30 organizations with its tax money. These areas include administration and buildings, roads and bridges, health care, public safety, law enforcement, and other miscellaneous services. Ann Merrick, local health care volunteer, stated that most departments would not exist if it were not for volunteers. The help of the auxiliary, which is a money-making organization for women, writing grants and the Edwards County Health Care Foundation, make our community strong and provide many services for the public. Bill Inman and Margaret Schnoebelon, local PRIDE committee members, stressed how important it is to have volunteers in a community. All the money made by the PRIDE committee goes directly back to the community. The 'Twice as Nice' shop, a second-hand store that PRIDE operates, provides income for community needs. Streve Seibel and Judy McKinney talked to the class on the importance of recycling and how we need to be involved on an individual basis. Recycling also helps to reduce the taxes that all individuals pay."
Justin Huslig, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

They encountered obstacles:
"Having ITV at Kinsley High School presents certain obstacles that need to be explored. The first obstacle is obviously, money. The cost of the necessary equipment and installation is between $25,000 to $30,000, plus an additional $12,000 to $16,000 annually for on-line service and maintenance. One possible way to help cover costs, is through a state grant. This could be accomplished by proving the benefits ITV would have at KHS. Another way to help cover the cost of ITV would be to go through the community, state the problem and get donations. É A second obstacle relates to the public's knowledge of ITV [interactive television] itself. It is possible that a wide variety of students as well as teachers have never heard, seen, or had hands-on experience with ITV. One solution to this problem is to present a workshop that involves the students as well as the teachers and instructors. This workshop could run during the first week of the new school year and would be designed to educate everyone about ITV. Another way of educating the students would be to bring in other students from Dodge City, Ulysses, or Lewis who have had previous access to ITV. By having students teach each other, they might learn and incorporate ITV faster."
Melissa Kuhn, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"The third obstacle that ITV produces is that the school is not equipped with the right instruments for setting up ITV. One would need to have a camera, a monitor, a fax machine and other major equipment. Most of this equipment [is costly] and ... funding would come from [staff reductions.] If a bond were passed, part of that money could be used for equipment and people from the community [might make donations.]"
Ginny Paddock, Kinsley HS, Kinsley, Kansas

"What if the benefits which we expected out of the system aren't satisfactory, or what if there are none? Sure, we looked at the cons, but we got so wrapped-up with the pros É that the cons were put aside. The obstacle here, then, isn't really to overcome the benefits, it is to overcome the expectation of this system, giving us, and all other patrons, satisfactory benefits. Since the patrons will be paying for it, the benefits must be good."
Aracely Loranzo, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"Interactive Television, is the transfer of an almost instant audio and visual message sent to and from a location by light waves through a telephone cable. This form of communication is mostly used in schools as a new form of education. Students are to master their daily lessons from an instructor on the monitor, while being [proctored] by a class instructor, and sharing this experience with others from another town."
Ginny Paddock, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas

"Installing ITV in Kinsley High School comes to an initial cost of $807,000. [This includes] $576,000 cost for fiber networks and terminals, $4,000 for coaxial cable terminal electronics, $171,000 for interactive classrooms, $41,000 for teachers' training and project coordination and $15,000 for miscellaneous expenses. If Kinsley High School could network with eight other schools (Bozel, Lewis, Macksville, St. John, Stafford, Hutchinson, Langdon and Hutchinson Community College), the cost would be divided equally among each school. Then each school would have to pay only $89,667. The cost for yearly operating costs is $44,500 for personnel (directors and in-school coordinators), $3,600 for maintenance of ITV equipment in the classroom, $2,000 for travel, seminars, and miscellaneous expenses. Then again, if KHS would divide the cost equally with the same eight schools, it would cost only $12,011 for each school. Some possible ways for overcoming the cost obstacle for KHS could be to come up with different fund-raisers for the money. The best way to save and use the money would be to forget the new schools that are planned. If the school board would table the new school plays, the board could use that money for installing ITV, then they would have the money for necessary purchases. Another way to get money to install ITV could be to raise taxes on the school books, the lunches, and other possible areas."
Angie Chamberlain, Kinsley High School, Kinsley, Kansas                                           

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