I live in an idyllic little town called Black Earth, Wisconsin. We're just west of Madison, Wisconsin, a farming community with a lot more to offer. The history of Black Earth is interesting, and the Black Earth Historical Society keeps track of this rich and varied history.
Today, Black Earth (population 1,380), and Mazomanie (just up the road, and in the Wisconsin Heights School District with Black Earth), is a wonderful place to raise a family. The kind of place where you can walk down the street in the summer and get an ice cream cone, walk back and stop to chat with your neighbors who are out in their yard playing with the kids, throwing a ball for their dog. We have a great library, , the largest shoe store in the midwest, there are also some gas stations, churches, and restaurants in the area, including Heiney's Dining and Rookies Food and Spirits. Also, Black Earth Meats offers some wonderful products, including local and organic meats.
There is also the famed Black Earth Creek, renowned for Trout fishing. You can learn more about the Black Earth Creek Watershed here. It's a beautiful area, with lots of rolling hills and prairies including the Black Earth Rettemund Prairie. This is how beautiful it is here...sometimes I see deer behind my house, down by the stream, and as I watch the sunset, I think it's too beautiful to be real, and I am so lucky to live here. It's clean and safe, and filled with good, caring people.
The Mazomanie community also has a lot of things to offer. From art galleries, a local swimming pool, a local farmer's market on Saturday mornings, to a gandydancer festival, parades, and more, there is just too much going on in to list here.
The Wisconsin Heights School District is facing a terrible crisis. There are about 900 students in pre-K through twelfth grade. A combination of the way Wisconsin funds it's schools, and a declining enrollment, have put the families in Black Earth and Mazomanie in a terrible bind. To be honest, the school district is having to cut programs and raise prices on sports and extra curricular activities. My kids attend these schools. They have received a wonderful education so far. They continue to receive excellent teaching, from wonderful qualified teachers, and have had some great learning experiences. The class sizes are ideal for learning, and I know most of the teachers, and am involved in the school district and know that the teachers and administration here really care about the families. It's a wonderful community to live in, and a great place to raise a family.
So, what can be done to help this school district?
ONE: What are you looking for in a hometown? WOuld you like a hometown feel with low taxes, low crime rate, a high quality of life, and a clean, natural place to live just down the road from one of America's top cities to live in? Consider visiting Mazomanie and Black Earth Wisconsin. There are a lot of beautiful houses available, and with the real estate market the way it is, you can get a great deal on a beautiful place to live. Spread the word, Black Earth and Mazomanie are wonderful communities to live in! Black Earth Field Days is celebrated at Veteran's Park in Black Earth August 9, 10, 2008 (and every August), check it out! A parade, fun kid's games, there's something for everyone!
TWO:
There is a group called Vanguard Pride consisting of families in the are who are trying to help our community and school. Please check out their website, they have a lot of good information on their website, and are trying to come up with some great solutions to the financial problems of the school, as well as spread the word of all the great things going on here. Their home page sums it up well "We would like to introduce a unifying concept called "Vanguard Pride", with the tagline; preserving our schools, preserving our community.
Many have reached the conclusion that without a unified sustainability plan, our local schools will be closed in two years.
Many have not yet realized that losing our schools also means losing our community.
Vanguard Pride's near term objective is to sustain quality local schools in the most cost effective manner possible.
Great efforts have been made to analyze costs and cuts have been made to optimize the cost of local education. To the credit of many, the tough task of successful cost cut cutting has been accomplished.
The reality is that we are at a point where we are both out of time and out of the kind of cost cutting ideas that will make a difference in the ultimate outcome.
To maintain confidence in our school district, a plan needs to be in place demonstrating a clear path of how quality schools will be sustained.
This group will take on tasks that support the objective of sustaining quality local schools, as well as provide a conduit for community input.
We will support community pride, as our communities are a place people chose to live: young adults starting out on their own, families raising their families, retirement age adults. We have many multigenerational families in our communities who chose to stay here as well as families who relocate to choose to live in our beautiful rural communities..."
We love our community and our schools, we welcome new people to come and experience life in a small town, with a lot to offer. If you have suggestions for ways to help save our schools, please contact me or post them here.
Thanks for reading, and please visit Black Earth and Mazomanie, Wisconsin, soon! If you know someone looking for a great place to live, please suggest our area!
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