By Joanna Miller

Correspondent

The Stand By Me citizens group continues to gather supporters for the upcoming operating levy and bond referendum for Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools.

The committee originally launched in 1997 to support a referendum and has continued to follow and react to school-funding issues, said Jackie Underferth of Prior Lake, one of the group’s founding members.

“There were 100 people who showed up because people were so upset,” she said of the outpouring of support at the first meeting. “We’ve not had a levy or bond that has failed since.”

The group has organized 200 volunteers for this year’s referendum campaign since meeting in March, and is chaired by three people, Steve Sammis, Jim Cassens and Stacey Ruelle.

So far, volunteers have written letters to the editor to local newspapers, made phone calls and distributed mailings and literature door-to-door.

Underferth said even the organization’s logo, a group of children drawn to represent students in the district, has gained visibility and recognition in the community. “They’ve come to recognize these kids and the name as part of the community working to get the bonds and levies passed,” she said.

The privately-funded group uses donations to increase awareness, Sammis said.

“It really does reflect on the strength of the community,” Sammis said, of people supporting schools.

Sammis said the group’s mission is to inform voters for Election Day.

“Things really come down to people understanding that it’s an issue of state funding and growth,” Sammis said.

Underferth said education funding is complex, and so informing voters is a big task. “It’s not easy to understand. It’s unbelievably complex,” she said.

Sammis agreed. “Our job is to really simplify it and break it down,” he said.

To increase awareness, the group plans to hold a rally on Friday, Oct. 12, at 5:30 p.m. before the Prior Lake High School football game at Dan Patch Stadium. The rally is open to the public and Stand By Me members will offer literature to support the group’s efforts.

Sammis said the rally is to increase awareness and create excitement. “It’s just another conduit to answer questions,” Sammis said.

Sammis said lately, they’ve received a lot of questions about state funding. “We try to make sure people understand the distribution of financial responsibility,” he said.

Underferth said she doesn’t have students in the district, but she still sees value in funding schools.

“It’s their taxes. It’s their community, and they need to have a say, too,” she said of people without children in the schools.

While taxes would increase, Underferth said it’s about what citizens get for their money.

“For some, taxes are the bottom line; for me, kids are the bottom line,” she said. “The high school is full today. It’s a fact. It is absolutely at capacity.

“I want people to have all the information including the logical consequences,” Underferth said, of knowing what could be cut and how class sizes will be impacted if the referendum items do not pass.

Sammis said it’s important for people to realize if the operating levy fails, Redtail Ridge Elementary will not open and teachers cannot be hired. And the bottom line is that class sizes will increase.

“That affects every building in this district,” Sammis said.

Underferth said state funding is one reason for the budget crunch. “The state funding has made it so we have to go to them (taxpayers) more often. The cities don’t have to do that. The School District has to go begging for money because they don’t get funding from the state,” she said.

Sammis said, for him, waiting another year for the levy isn’t an option. “The need is there now. You just can’t go down the path of another year of cuts,” he said. “There are real negative ramifications to that.”

Sammis said that he feels the school has been fiscally responsible with its budget.

 Joanna Miller can be reached at jmiller@swpub.com.