Pines referendum again?

To the Editor;
Money does not fix the failing grade of Public Education, and the Northland Pines School District is no exception. According to U.S. News and World Report, only 21% of high school students at NPSD test proficient or higher in math, and only 27% test proficient or higher in reading. That means that 79% of NPHS students do not test proficient in math and 73% do not test proficient in reading!
Recent articles in both the Vilas County News-Review and the “Invest in Our Future” mass mailer sent to ‘Postal Customers’ from the Northland Pines School District show the inability nor desire of our local school board and administrators to live within their budget. Something taxpayers do every day.
A message from the District Administrator, Scott Foster, yet again begs the local taxpayers for more money. Boldly titling the pro-referendum propaganda as Invest In Our Future, while 2023 statistics from govsalaries.com show Mr. Fosters’ annual salary of $160,050 to be 148% higher than the median salary of the people he is begging for more money!
The full list of government salaries is available to the public as we pay their salaries. They work for us. The student test results show that they are not doing a very good job. More money is not the answer.
Government waste and inefficiency are at the top of the list as Elon Musk makes the news in assisting the reigning in of bloated spending. Perhaps it’s time the Northland Pines School District does the same. If education was streamlined back to the basics, perhaps our students and graduates would be better prepared for life and proficient in basic things like reading and math.
As our world becomes more competitive by the minute, our students must do the same if we are truly to Invest In Our Future. Covid ripped the mask off the epic failure of public education. Now is the time to breathe life and learning back into the system, not more money.

Teresa Dorn
Land O’ Lakes