Posted Feb. 18, 2004
By Amy Weaver
Herald Times Reporter
MANITOWOC - Supporters of the National School Lunch Program were all smiles Tuesday night as election results poured in, showing the school lunch referendum had passed.
"Once it got down to four or five
districts (left), we were pretty happy," said Carol Wergin, president
of the League of Women Voters of Manitowoc County, from Kathy's Stage
Door Pub, where supporters gathered.
Unofficial results showed 5,577 votes for borrowing up to $1.4 million
to upgrade and remodel buildings to bring the NSLP to the Manitowoc
Public School District, and 4,395 against.
Wergin and other league members credited the victory to the grassroots effort of community members such as Maureen O'Brien and school board member Ron Kossik, who started the National School Lunch Coalition in July of 2001. She also cited Kathy Owens, and school board members Jim Protsman and Mike Herrity.
"It wouldn't have passed without them," Wergin said.
All three board members wanted a seat on the board to bring a lunch program to the MPSD. It was Protsman, though, who got the ball rolling when he asked the district's at-risk committee to study the issue of nutrition and student performance.
Steve Gibson, who was working as a consultant for the district at the time, released a report that found a connection between nutrition and school performance. The school board then agreed to put the issue of a lunch program to the community.
Fellow league member Darlene Wellner gave a lot of credit to former school board member Tony Dufek, who endorsed the referendum in his weekly column in the Lakeshore Chronicle.
"He has a lot of credibility with the senior citizens that no one else has," she said.
Both Kossik and Protsman said Gibson, now interim superintendent, was a factor in the election.
"Steve was the first Manitowoc superintendent that provided basic, factual information about school lunch," Kossik said. "And that was a factor because that was certainly lacking in the community."
Dennis Bernhardt felt the differences between this referendum and one that failed in 1998 were that the district was asking for a smaller loan - $1.4 million instead of $3.5 million - and there was a lot more publicity about the issues. For this referendum, district officials also took the time to investigate how other area school district lunch programs were run, and prepared a plan to remodel district buildings.
Bernhardt wasn't opposed to school lunch in principle, but voted against it because of how the district wanted to pay for it.
"They could have found some other way to fund it instead of digging into everyone's pocket each time," he said.
Dorothy Crocker, who works at Lincoln High School as a study hall supervisor, echoed his sentiments.
"Uh oh," she said of the results. "The taxpayers will have to pay. That's too bad."
As a multiple property owner, Bernhardt can now expect a property tax increase. The referendum will raise property taxes an estimated 15 cents on every $1,000 of assessed value. Taxes on a $100,000 home would thus increase $15.
The loan is expected to be paid off in five years, district officials have said, after which time the lunch program will be self-sustaining.
Bernhardt was glad the board gave the public a chance to voice its opinion on the lunch issue. The fact that the difference in the votes was 1,182 indicated that a sizable portion of the community still believes it isn't the right thing to do.
The close margin wasn't as much of an issue with Wergin.
"It won," she said. "It's a go. The train has left the station."
Amy Weaver: (920) 686-2968; or aweaver@htrnews.com