Eden Prairie School District
Expects review of fiscal responsibilities
I read with interest the article regarding the EP School District projected future shortfalls. I interpreted this as a first sign that taxpayers would be asked at some point to approve an increase in tax levies. My first sign to the School Board is no. Much as the city of Eden Prairie has scrutinized its budget, and said “no” to certain items, I expect the School Board to look inside their budgets first. I also read the article about speaking English. I support the elimination of all foreign language classes in the school budget. If, indeed, there is a need to learn another language, the cost should be borne by the parent, not by all parents. This is but one example of non-core spending that, while not popular, will need to be looked at in the budget process.
In addition, I would like to know more about teacher pay increases, teacher to student ratios, total district employees to student ratios, contributions to retirement funds, etc. In the efforts to educate our children with the resources reasonably available from the population in the community, complete and unbiased information must be presented. While I understand fuel cost increases, I am not aware of any changes in progress to mitigate these costs, i.e. deferring bus purchases a year from existing policy, reducing the number of routes (payroll savings), etc.
As much as I am responsible to balance my personal budget with average pay gains, I will not support an increase in taxes unless I am confident that fiscal responsibilities are internally reviewed and communicated to the public.
Robert Becker
Eden Prairie

Flying Cloud Airport
Airport Commission
has a way to go
The Eden Prairie Airport Commission meeting was the most informative and well-attended since I began attending these meetings last November; but, the commission has a way to go to convince people it is being fully open in its communications. Repeated requests from residents for the commission to divulge identities of aircraft which routinely violate the nighttime flying curfew and private corporations most likely to benefit from airport expansion went unsatisfied.
However, I did learn more about the mindset of the commission and Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC). For example, many residents’ comments focused on lack of enforcement of MAC’s nighttime flying curfew. The curfew is voluntary. It was suggested by residents that the curfew be enforced in some way. MAC’s response was that enforcement attempts would run afoul of the FAA, which would consider enforcement “discriminatory and capricious,” possibly endangering FAA funding of the entire Minnesota airport network. I’m incredulous that the relatively mild penalty of a fine, for enforcement of a rule established at a “reliever” airport to protect interests of an aggrieved part of the population, would result in endangering federal funding of the entire Minnesota system, including the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. Second, how can enforcement of such a rule be legally considered discriminatory or capricious? If I get a ticket for speeding, can I complain to police or a judge that the ticket is a discriminatory and capricious violation of my rights?
MAC said the discriminatory aspect of such enforcement arises from the idea that violators may not be as able to compete economically if required to honor the curfew. An extension of that logic would allow businesses to violate speed limits since they may need to drive faster to keep up with the competition. As for the capriciousness of curfew enforcement, there would be nothing capricious about defending interests of residents affected by noise and low-altitude landings and takeoffs. The resistance shown by residents at this meeting is anything but capricious. Our quality-of-life and the values of our homes are substantially affected by continued violation of this curfew.
One of MAC’s slides indicated a MAC commitment to initiate a mandatory curfew system if 75 stage-II aircraft violations are recorded in a 12-month period. If MAC feels it has the power to initiate a mandatory curfew, why does it have to wait? If it is because MAC is afraid that the FAA may not approve such action otherwise, then there is a question of whether MAC is doing enough to convince the FAA that a mandatory curfew is needed whatever the level of violations.
As one resident said, we need an organization which will provide more push-back against the FAA on behalf of residents – one that is not so cowed by the FAA that it is paralyzed into inaction for fear of being branded as “discriminatory and capricious” by those who hold the purse strings. I have hope the federal government is not so biased toward business interests over citizen interests that it would oppose a mandatory nighttime curfew for the benefit of a vocal and determined segment of citizens that can demonstrate the need for one.
Michael J. Woolsey
Eden Prairie

Election 2008
Supports Jenifer Loon
Please join me in supporting Jenifer Loon for the House legislative seat for district 42B. I have personally known Jenifer for nine years and she is hardworking and a loyal friend. Her extensive legislative experience along with her dedication in the school district makes her an excellent candidate for the State Representative position. I believe that her fiscally responsible approach to problems is exactly what we need to get things done with our Minnesota tax dollars. Please vote for Jenifer Loon so we can be sure our district is in good hands!
Cathy Buse
Eden Prairie

Other topics
Fun-loving men
I can’t imagine four more handsome, fun-loving men gracing your cover than the Eden Prairie Mixed Nuts founders. Thank you for their story of friendship, tradition, camaraderie and fun. I’m all for the duty-free fishing ride for the age 80-plus-ers. Those precious World War II veterans have more than earned it!
Nancy Hovey
Eden Prairie

Invest in vaccine
In a muddy field in rural Kenya, a boy plays soccer with his friends. His name is Bahari, and he is 11 years old. His father works on a farm producing coffee beans. Suddenly he runs into his house and complains of a sudden and violent stomach ache, minutes later, he is convulsing and has a terrible fever.
Bahari’s parents rush him to the owner of the farm that his farther works on, for he is the only one in their small village with a van. They rush him to a makeshift hospital. By that time, his convulsions are worse and his fever is life threatening. The doctors there give him a treatment called ACT which, hopefully, will save him.
But they were too late, because Bahari died a few hours later. Bahari, like one million other children, suffered from a deadly form of malaria, but what if no child had malaria? Now scientists believe they can do just that. Every year, 350 to 500 million people are infected with some kind of malaria. Of those cases, over one million are fatal. The need to control this disease is at its highest now, because, according to the CDC, 41 percent of the entire world population lives in places where malaria is transmitted. The worst part of the disease is that the most vulnerable are the children. In fact, every 30 seconds, a child dies from malaria.
Although the numbers look bleak, we can still solve the malaria problem in Africa. According to BBC news, a vaccine for malaria has recently been proven to lower the risk of catching malaria by 65 percent. If we continue to fund the research on this vaccine, we could stop malaria. Africa’s poor economy would be improved because of the massive boost in work force. According to Jeffery Sachs, a Harvard professor, 73.6 billion dollars were lost because of malaria from 1980 to 1995. If we could stop malaria, Africa could realize its true potential and make the world a better place. All we need to do now is research the vaccine, and when it is perfected, distribute it to Africa.
Andrew Teaver
Eden Prairie