By Jolene Farley
The state of Minnesota’s new system of funding education has jeopardized students’ futures, has taken funding options away from rural school districts and hasn’t done that many favors to local property tax payers.

That’s the position asserted by the Minnesota Rural Education Association in a video detailing the effect of the 2001 property tax reform on rural Minnesota schools.

The Hills-Beaver Creek School Board and Superintendent Dave Deragisch reviewed the video, "Tax Reform One Year Later," at a recent meeting, and Deragisch agrees with the MREA.

"I thought what they said was very true for rural state of Minnesota schools," he said.

It is MREA’s position that the dramatic property tax reform left students with less stable funding, rural school districts with smaller tax bases, students with less funding and taxpayers with increasing property tax bills.

Cost of the takeover
It cost $1 billion to remove education from property tax rolls, according to MREA. When the economy was doing well, costs where covered by surplus sales and income tax revenues. By the second year, after an economic slowdown, the legislature turned to the schools to borrow to cover the cost.

Less stable funding
Dollars are no longer dedicated exclusively to education. In the past, local property taxes paid one-third of the entire cost of education.

"Education is forced to compete with other aspects of state budgets," said the video. "The takeover left education with less stable revenue."

Rural districts have smaller tax bases
MREA maintains that students in rural districts went from a buying power comparable to students in metro districts to having a tax base only one-half as big.

With the removal of agricultural land from the tax rolls, homes and businesses in rural areas may be unable to sustain the cost of excess levies.

If property tax is used to increase basic education funding, MREA believes:

It should be a statewide general education tax on all property.

It must be levied by the state and not at the discretion of local school boards.

It must be fully equalized to be fair to each student.

Students with
less funding
Districts are funded on a per pupil basis by the legislature. Administrators and school boards are sometimes unable to trim costs as quickly as they lose students.

Deragisch agrees. "Everything is based on student pupil numbers, in the rural schools we struggle every year to maintain our number of students," he said.

Currently throughout the state, increased costs are driven by higher special education costs, health insurance cost increases, technology costs, and limited English usage.

Internet access charges for students vary from district to district. For example, the cost per student per year in one district is $530 while in another metro district the cost is $1 per student per year.

In 2003, state funding to equalize technology will be eliminated.

Limited English costs have increased by 230 percent in the last 10 years, according to the video.

Property taxes creep up
Decreased tax burdens implemented in 2002 are creeping back to higher 2001 levels.

Operating or bond levies for schools increased 66 percent between 2002-03.

The dramatic buy down of school levies in 2002 could make a 2003 increase appear large or property valuation increases, from 8 to 10 percent over the last four years, could contribute.

Reimbursement of consistent costs
Deragisch thinks the state should reimburse districts for costs that are consistent from one district to the next, regardless of whether the district is rural or metropolitan. This reimbursement wouldn’t be driven by enrollment.

Some fixed costs are heat, fuel and special education. Every district pays for these costs no matter how many students are in the district.

"There’s direct costs that could be funded that are constant throughout the state," he said.

With a $4.6 billion projected state deficit, Deragisch doubts the new administration, under Governor Tim Pawlenty, will solve funding problems in the near future.

"I along with every superintendent in Minnesota is nervous as to how the schools will be affected," he said. "Any reduction in school funding would be devastating to a lot of school districts."

Deragisch would like to see the state fund mandated programs. "We have mandates, and many times, they are funded the first year and then the funding is absorbed and we still have the reoccurring costs."

Adequate, predictable funding is the goal
MREA is an association of 150 school districts, about 40 percent of the state’s independent school districts, located in non-metropolitan Minnesota, according to their Web site.

The organization was founded in 1985 by a group of school board members and administrators who believed that non-metro school districts need a clearer voice in St. Paul. Members include teachers, school board members, and administrators.

MREA’s 2003 platform includes adequate, predictable funding which includes the full cost of special education mandates, a continued state commitment to equitably and entirely fund basic education, broad technology access and more state technology support and incentives to reorganize district administrative and financial services.

The sixth annual Winterfest celebration brought lots of light to downtown Luverne Saturday and heavy traffic throughout the town. The Parade of Lights drew onlookers from Steen trying to stay warm while watching from the curb. Pictured are Dallas (left) and Dylan Kroon.

Photo by Sara Strong

The Steen Reformed Church performed the cantata "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" Sunday nite.
Jeremy Elbers, Esther Oehlschlagel and Carter Roozenboom played Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus. Story inside

Photo by Jolene Farley

Adrian senior guard Dusty Henning sets up to shoot the ball during Saturday’s basketball game against Southwest Star Concept in Adrian. Henning scored six points and snared eight rebounds during a 62-59 loss to the Quasars.

By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian boys’ broke into the win column Tuesday by pulling out a one-point victory over Russell-Tyler-Ruthton in Tyler.

The win followed a two-point loss to Southwest Christian in Edgerton Friday and a three-point home loss to Southwest Star Concept Saturday.

Adrian, 1-3 overall, plays in Mountain Lake tonight and at Edgerton Public Tuesday. The Dragons host Luverne Friday.

Adrian 54, R-T-R 53
A pair of clutch free throws down the stretch gave the Dragons a one-point win over the Knights Tuesday in Tyler.

After leading most of the game, Adrian found itself facing a 53-52 deficit late in the game. Dragon Pete Hohn was fouled with 12 seconds left, and the senior drained a pair of charity shots to provide Adrian with the game-clinching points.

Adrian sported 14-4, 28-21 and 40-38 leads at the first three quarter breaks before winning the contest in dramatic fashion.

"We didn’t play real well, but we got our first win," said Dragon coach Chris Rozell. "Hopefully, after losing three close games, this one will bring some confidence back."

Hohn’s free throws capped a 12-point, three steal, three-assist performance. Kyle Knips had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Casey Knips latched on to 12 rebounds, and Brandon Wolf recorded seven assists.

Box score
Hohn 5 0 2-2 12, Wolf 1 0 1-1 3, Henning 1 0 0-0 2, Spieker 3 0 0-0 6, Block 1 0 0-0 2, Lynn 2 0 0-0 4, K.Knips 7 0 0-1 14, Brake 1 0 0-0 2, C.Knips 4 0 1-3 9.

Team statistics
Adrian: 24 of 60 field goals (40 percent), four of seven free throws (57 percent), 40 rebounds, 17 turnovers.
R-T-R: 21 of 64 field goals (33 percent), 10 of 17 free throws (59 percent), 30 rebounds, 16 turnovers.

SSC 62, Adrian 59
Three free throws in the game’s final minute gave the Quasars a three-point victory over the home-standing Dragons Saturday.

Adrian, which led 47-45 entering the fourth quarter, found itself facing a 56-52 deficit before battling back to tie the score at 56 and 59 late in the period.

SSC’s Tyler Leopold snapped the deadlock by draining a pair of free throws with less than one minute remaining, and another charity shot by Jody Hansen with 8.4 seconds remaining provided the Quasars with a three-point win.

SSC led 10-7 in the first quarter before Adrian put together a 9-0 run featuring five points from David Brake to take a 16-10 lead.

The Quasars trimmed the difference to three points (16-13) by the end of the first quarter before outscoring AHS 20-9 in the first six minutes of the second quarter to open a 33-25 lead.

A field goal by Adrian’s Casey Knips capped a 5-0 run to bring the Dragons within three points at 33-30, but SSC scored four of the final six points of the first half to sport a 37-32 lead at intermission.

Adrian pulled within one point of SSC three times in the third quarter before moving in front 43-42 with a field goal from Kyle Knips at the 1:27 mark. The game was tied at 45 when Dragon Dusty Henning converted an offensive rebound into a field goal with one second remaining to give AHS a 47-45 lead heading into the fateful fourth quarter.

Brake led the Dragons in scoring with 17 points. Kyle Knips added 13 points and snared seven rebounds. Henning and Casey Knips grabbed eight rebounds each, Pete Hohn charted five assists and four steals, and Brandon Wolf recorded four steals.

Box score
Hohn 4 0 0-0 8, Wolf 1 1 1-2 6, Henning 3 0 0-0 6, Klingenberg 0 0 0-0 0, Spieker 1 0 0-0 2, Block 1 0 0-0 2, Lynn 1 0 1-2 3, K.Knips 5 0 3-4 13, Brake 5 0 7-10 17, C.Knips 1 0 0-0 2.

Team statistics
Adrian: 23 of 60 field goals (38 percent), 12 of 18 free throws (67 percent), 40 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
SSC: 17 of 58 field goals (29 percent), 23 of 35 free throws (66 percent), 38 rebounds, seven turnovers.

SWC 53, Adrian 51
The Dragons made a bid to upset four-time defending state champion SWC before falling two points short in Edgerton Friday.

Adrian, which sported a four-point lead during the fourth quarter, had a player on the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game with three seconds remaining.

After the first charity shot was missed, Dragon coach Rozell instructed his player to intentionally miss the second shot in hopes of getting a rebound. The player followed the instructions, and Adrian did rebound the missed free throw, but the potential game-tying shot was off the mark.

SWC sported 15-10, 24-20 and 36-34 leads at the first three quarter breaks.

Pete Hohn scored 17 points, nabbed seven rebounds and led the Dragons with five assists. Wolf added 15 points, Casey Knips had nine rebounds and Cliff Lynn chipped in four steals.

Box score
Hohn 7 0 3-4 17, Wolf 1 4 1-3 15, Henning 0 1 4-4 7, Klingenberg 0 0 0-0 0, Spieker 1 0 3-5 5, Block 0 0 0-0 0, Lynn 0 0 0-0 0, K.Knips 1 0 3-6 5, Brake 0 0 0-0 0, C.Knips 1 0 0-1 2.

Team statistics
Adrian: 16 of 39 field goals (41 percent), 14 of 23 free throws (61 percent), 33 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
SWC: 16 of 40 field goals (40 percent), 11 of 26 free throws (42 percent), 28 rebounds, 18 turnovers.

Hills-Beaver Creek sophomore Kale Wiertzema (31) challenges the drive of a Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster player during Friday’s boys’ basketball game in Hills. Wiertzema scored 11 points to help H-BC notch its first win of the season against the Raiders.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team posted a win and a loss over the weekend.

The Patriots downed Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster by 29 points in Hills Friday before losing a nine-point home decision to Central Lyon (Iowa) Saturday.

H-BC, 1-2 overall, plays at Edgerton Public tonight before hosting Southwest Christian Tuesday.

CL 83, H-BC 74
A hot-shooting Central Lyon squad gunned its way to a nine-point win over the Patriots in Hills Saturday.

The Lions drained 59 percent of their field goals in the game to set the stage for victory.

H-BC sported an 18-15 edge after eight minutes of play before CL moved in front 43-33 at the intermission with a 28-15 scoring advantage in the second quarter.

The Lions led 65-52 heading into the final eight minutes of play, when H-BC used a 22-18 scoring edge to trim the final margin to nine points.

Tyson Metzger led H-BC with 21 points and eight rebounds. Jesse Leuthold netted 12 points and collected seven rebounds, while Trey Van Wyhe struck for 12 points and six rebounds. Tyler Bush, who led H-BC with five steals, recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. Kale Wiertzema added 16 points and six assists to the cause.

Box score
Bush 3 1 2-4 11, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 1 0 0-0 2, Broesder 0 0 0-0 0, Wiertzema 5 2 0-0 16, Metzger 6 0 9-13 21, Leuthold 4 0 4-5 12, Van Wyhe 4 0 4-6 12.

Team statistics
H-BC: 26 of 70 field goals (37 percent), 19 of 28 free throws (68 percent), 31 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
CL: 32 of 54 field goals (59 percent), 15 of 22 free throws (68 percent), 30 rebounds, 21 turnovers.

H-BC 72, SV-RL-B 43
The Patriots posted their first win of the season when they rolled to a 29-point home victory over the Raiders Friday.

H-BC opened a nine-point halftime advantage before outscoring SV-RL-B 41-21 in the second half to win handily.

With Wiertzema netting five of his 11 points to set the pace, H-BC scored the game’s first seven points and led 14-2 midway through the first quarter before SV-RL-B put together an 8-0 run to make it a 14-10 game at the quarter break.

The Patriots padded their lead to 12 points (31-19) when Clint Roozenboom drained a field goal with 27 seconds left in the second period, but the Raiders scored the final three points of the first half to trim the difference to nine points (31-22) at the intermission.

H-BC put the game out of reach in the third quarter by outscoring the Raiders 23-8 while extending its lead to 54-30.

The Patriots led by as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter before settling for a 29-point win.

Metzger, who led H-BC with 16 points and 13 rebounds, led the third-quarter charge by scoring eight points in the period. Leuthold, who had 14 points in the game, scored 10 counters in the second half.

Wiertzema had seven assists and six rebounds for the winners. Bush had six rebounds, six steals and six assists. Van Wyhe added five rebounds and three steals to the cause.

Box score
Bush 3 0 2-5 8, Elbers 0 0 0-0 0, Wysong 0 0 2-2 2, Jackson 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 3 0 3-6 9, Broesder 1 0 2-4 4, Wiertzema 3 1 2-2 11, Metzger 4 1 5-8 16, Leuthold 6 0 2-2 14, Van Wyhe 4 0 0-2 8, Spykerboer 0 0 0-0 0.

Team statistics
H-BC: 26 of 55 field goals (47 percent), 18 of 31 free throws (58 percent), 42 rebounds, 21 turnovers.
SV-RL-B: 18 of 49 field goals (37 percent), five of nine free throws (56 percent), 20 rebounds, 21 turnovers.

Off with the pilgrim hats,
I’m ready for Santa suits

This time of year, columnists typically write about how Christmas comes too soon and Thanksgiving is lost in the shuffle. … Blah, blah, blah.

I can’t help it, but I’m one of the guilty people who starts thinking about Christmas by about the beginning of November — what to eat, what to give, what to get, even what board games to play with the family.

Just because I look forward to Christmas doesn’t mean that I support the idea of merchandising jack-o’-lanterns next to reindeer, though.

It’s more fun to anticipate the season, even if it’s a little early, than to have it forced on us for half a year.

One way I won’t get into the Christmas spirit is by venturing out the day after Thanksgiving. Even in Luverne the crowds can get a little feisty.

I know a few people in retail (outside Luverne) and they had some interesting things to say about the big shopping day. An elderly woman was trampled in a store aisle, and in another case, store doors were broken by a mass of people inching their way to the entry.

I admit that I get sucked into consumerism as much as the next person, but my defenses to overindulgence are up — even though I love Christmas and everything it means.

I’m not the only one who goes through this thought process. The Friday after Thanksgiving is International Buy Nothing Day, sometimes called No Shop Day.

The purpose of the day is to encourage people to reflect on their spending habits and to think about the effects of consumerism on society and on each of our finances.

Even though I’m not ready to jump into a spending frenzy, I will spend my Christmas budget in our local businesses, and I hope our readers do the same.

About that column
on conflicts of interest…
It looks like some people who saw my last column may be reading between the lines to get messages I didn’t intend. I’ve gotten verbal comments from people who understood my point, but the paper’s letter writers may differ.

I did not write about my opinions on utility collection policies. In fact, I don’t really have an opinion on the topic. The interpretation that unpaid utilities are a form of landlord subsidy came from a qualified attorney, not from me.

What my column did cover was conflicts of interest. I said that city councilmen should be open about them when conflicts arise during official discussion.

Wanting them to do so shouldn’t be seen as me becoming a barking watchdog or subscribing to some unattainable, lofty ideal; it doesn’t ask that no one speak on topics of which they are knowledgeable.

Disclosing conflicts of interest is the law, which I also didn’t write.

I held up Mayor Glen Gust as an example of some things that can be interpreted as conflicts of interest. Gust said he didn’t think it necessary that I write about the topic again, but I think it’s fair that I do.

In the column, I pointed out that he was a firefighter and landlord, two issues that have been discussed at recent council meetings. The problem is, that at the meeting when Gust said he was a landlord, he meant in the past.

Even though he has property that other people live or work in, it’s not a technical landlord-tenant relationship. And he’s sold or is in the process of selling properties that could have generated any utility costs for him, which makes the conflict of interest a stretch in that example.

Christmas store hours begin Friday
Holiday Christmas shopping hours in Luverne will begin this Friday.

Beginning Dec. 13, Luverne Chamber retailers will begin staying open until 8 p.m. for the final two weeks before Christmas.

Stores will close on Saturday at regular hours and will close at 4 p.m. on both Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.

If you need a little financial help when your purchases don’t forget the 0% Christmas Loan program the Luverne chamber is sponsoring.

You can borrow between $300 and $1,000 at any of the three Luverne banks and have up to six months to pay it off at 0% interest.

Christmas at the Palace this Friday
Don’t forget to attend"Christmas at the Palace" this Friday.

The Luverne Chamber of Commerce event will serve as a fund-raiser for the Blue Mound Area Theatre Group, which owns the Palace Theatre.

Participants this year will include groups from: American Reformed Church, Grace Lutheran Church, New Life Church, First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, and St. Catherine Catholic Church.

Besides the local church choirs, other local talent will include Joe Dorhout, Carol Zwaan, Luverne High School Brass Choir, Wendy and Heidi Sandbulte and Amy Donth, Jack Leslie, Sue Sandbulte and the Green Earth Players. Dave Knips is also scheduled to perform on the Palace’s pipe organ.

All proceeds from the event will help restore the Palace Theatre.

The event will start at 7:30 p.m., with tickets selling for $5 or $3 with a food shelf donation.

Students 12 and younger can get in for $2. All tickets will be sold at the door the night of the event.

SHARE needs your help
Friday and Saturday are your last chances to make a donation to this year’s SHARE program.

Organizers will collect donations at the Armory from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13., and again from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14,.

Donations may also be mailed to SHARE, P.O. Box 792, Luverne, MN 56156.

SHARE was started nearly 20 years ago to help collect and distribute Christmas gifts and food to people in Rock County who might not have much of a Christmas without them.

In 2001, SHARE provided 121 families with groceries, clothing, and toys for 175 children and 176 adults.

Contact Lona Klosterbuer, Cheryl Cox or Mary Tilstra for more information.

Minnesota on list for narrow gaps in income
Minnesota is on the short list for a state that has the closest gaps in low and high income.

Minnesota was fourth from the narrowest gap, with the bottom fifth average income at $20,245, and the top fifth average income at $154,972.

States with a narrow gap included South Dakota at 7.2 top to bottom ratio, with Utah and Indiana both at 7.0

On the other end of the spectrum, New York had the biggest income gaps.

The average income for the top fifth for New York State was $161,858, while the bottom fifth averaged $12, 639.

That puts Minnesota’s top to bottom ratio at 7.7 and New York’s at 12.8.

Other states with high top to bottom ratios included Louisiana at 11.6, Texas at 11.0, and California at 11.0

Want to send our servicemen an e-mail?
If you are so inclined, visit the U.S. Department of Defense Web page below and sign a brief message thanking the men and women of the U.S. military service for defending our freedom. The compiled list of names will be sent out to our soldiers at the end of the month. So far, there are about 1,300,000 names.

http://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html.

It only takes 10 seconds!

The National Debt and your share
As of Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2002, the National Debt clock was at $6,353,118,888,337.31

The estimated population of the United States is 289,089,191. So, each citizen's share of this debt is $21,976.33.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $1.25 billion per day since September 28, 2001!

Publisher Roger Tollefson can be contacted by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Memorial services for Grace Lapic will be Friday, Dec. 13, at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montgomery. The Rev. Clarence Vavra will officiate. There will be no visitation.

Grace A. Lapic, 68, Wabasso, formerly of Luverne, died Saturday, Dec. 7, 2002, at Wabasso Health Care Center in Wabasso.

Grace Lapic was born to Frank and Mary (Ziska) Lapic on Jan. 4, 1934, in New Prague. The family moved to Luverne where she attended school. She graduated from Luverne High School in 1952. She was active in cheerleading, journalism and music.

She became a telephone operator, working in Luverne, Redwood Falls, St. Peter, Minneapolis and Rochester. While working in Minneapolis she was recognized as ‘Miss Voice" for her communications skills and warmth in working. She retired while working in Rochester and moved to Mankato where she lived until 1999.

Survivors include two sisters, Dolores Reisdorfer, Marshall, and Irene (Leonard) Hansen, St. Peter; and several nieces and nephews.

Ms. Lapic was preceded in death by her parents, a brother-in-law, Robert Reisdorfer, and one niece, Leah Hansen.

St. Peter Funeral Home-Klein Chapel, St. Peter, are in charge of arrangements.

Eugene Boelman, 74, Seattle, Wash., formerly of Luverne, died Sunday, Nov. 10, 2002, at his home in Seattle.

Eugene Boelman, was born to George and Cornelia (Boomgarden) Boelman on March 26, 1928, in Luverne. He graduated from Luverne High School. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

He married Dorothy Dean of Magnolia on June 6, 1952. They lived in Luverne for 20 years before moving to Seattle.

Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Boelman, three children, Jayne, David and Leigh; one granddaughter, Kimberly; his mother, Cornelia Boelman, all of Seattle.

Bleitz Funeral Home, Seattle, was in charge of arrangements.