By Ken Petersen, Guest Column

In my years on the school board, the most challenging time to serve is during a referendum. It&8217;s hard enough to decide that we have to ask our friends, neighbors and community members to support an increase in their taxes for the benefit of our community&8217;s schools.

What&8217;s even harder, however, is the feeling of disappointment about the comments that are made in criticism of the referendum or board that are without factual information. While it is good that there are several viewpoints given on any topic, it is important that those viewpoints use facts that are from informed, factual sources.

A recent example of uninformed sources appeared in the Tribune on Sunday, Oct. 21. The article stated that they &8212; the opponents&8217; group &8212; originally hoped to work with the school district, but decided not to because they wish to remain anonymous. Once again, it is very easy to make comments, some anonymous, with little or no information to support the statements. It was stated that they plan to educate the public, but I am not sure what source of information will be utilized.

Communication is a very challenging task for any group, business, or government body. Statistics show that 70 percent of the people in a community have no direct contact with schools today, which makes trying to explain how schools work in this decade even more challenging. We certainly wish that more citizens would attend board and referendum meetings, especially those who wish to provide factual information about our school district to other people.

For this referendum we have provided communication through various sources including: television, newspaper, radio, public meetings, service club and group presentations, Internet (district homepage) and direct mailings. It should be noted that every school district is required by state law to send direct mailings with factual information to each homeowner. Please let us know if you have recommendations for other forms of communication we could use to explain the referendum. We would be happy to speak to any group that would like us to present this important information.

For those who would like to work with the school board, there are many ways to be involved with the school board activities or to help direct our future direction. Our district has several advisory committees that help the board by providing information and recommendations on various aspects of our system. They include the Budget Advisory, Curriculum, Special Education and Community Education committees, in addition to the parent organizations at the schools. Thank you to all people who have volunteered to serve our community on these committees.

Most informed citizens realize that the school board is not spending its time on the board for financial or personal gains but to do what is best for kids and the community. The board will continue to analyze our financial situation to see that our tax dollars are spent wisely. We want to be a financially responsible district that does not go into debt, but we also want to make sure we have the funds necessary to educate our community&8217;s children to live and succeed in a very rapidly changing world.

I hope that the youth of today have the same education opportunities as my family has experienced in this great community. I encourage everyone to get factual information and make an informed decision on this referendum. After receiving the facts, make the decision that you feel is best for you and the community.

Thanks to everyone in our district for your support throughout the years of serving on the board.

Ken Petersen is the chairman of the Albert Lea school board.