Charlie Bunde, Sartell
I have been a resident of Sartell since 1991 and during this time I have always been in full support and take great pride in the education that is provided to our children.
I, like the majority of residents of Sartell-St. Stephen, in 2016 voted on the levy to build a new high school. In 2018 when the Sartell-St. Stephen school district came back to ask the residents for a second school levy of $17 million, for 10 years, to fund daily operations of new high school and other district improvements, I found myself angry and disappointed. $17 million is clearly not just an oversight or a clerical error but a clear attempt by the Sartell-St. Stephen school district to swindle money from the tax payers of this district.
To put gas on the fire, the Sartell-St. Stephen school district is trying to put the blame on the taxpayers for not approving the second levy and now the district will have to lay off teachers and increase class sizes because of this. I would like to see those district officials responsible for this Ponzi scheme held accountable; I would like to see transparency for this fraudulent behavior that has been perpetrated on the taxpayers of this district by the Sartell-St. Stephen school district.
