Barbara Skoglund allowed us to reproduce here a letter she sent to 622 board chair Cathy Miller on 18 January 2008.
Thank you for returning my call yesterday. As I'm sure you could tell, ISD622s desire to leave EMID is a very important issue for me. I have been increasingly frustrated by the lack of information shared with 622/EMID families, the lack of our involvement in the discussion, the quick nature of the district's actions and the misinformation that has been shared with us and with you and your fellow board members.
As a former MDE employee and someone with a better than average understanding of state education rules, I was quite shocked when you told me that MDE ordered 622 to form a new collaborative and that 622's current participation did not meet state requirements. This countered both my understanding of state rule, my interpretation of Mr. Nyembwe's letter to Superintendent Phillips, and information I received from Kathy Griebel of EMID. I just got off the phone with Glory Kibble, Mr. Nyembwe's supervisor. She confirmed my understanding of the rule. MDE has NOT ordered 622 to form a new collaborative and 622's continued participation in EMID DOES meet state requirements.
Another major piece of misinformation deals with the perceived financial benefit of leaving EMID. Some have argued that 622 disproportionately supports EMID. This is just not true. A higher percent of 622 families enroll their children in EMID than some of the other partner districts and each pupil brings their revenue with them. 622 does not pay a dispraportionately higher percent of integration dollars to EMID than the other partners. You and your fellow board members have also been told that by leaving EMID 622 will gain over a million dollars in additional revenue. That presupposes that every 622/EMID student will leave EMID and attend 622 schools. Frankly, that won't happen. Our kids, and their per pupil revenue will stay at Harambee and Crosswinds. By leaving EMID, you will no longer share the costs of EMID services and will have a mere 600,000 additional dollars to develop a new collaborative and independent integration plan.
Finally, I urge you to step back, gather more information, learn more about what 622's annual investment actually pays for and what services are available. Make a data driven decision, not a decision based on misinformation.