WHY DOES THE DPI SCORING MATTER? Like any successful business or individual, there needs to be some method to measure & compare performance and progress over time. The WI Department of Public Instruction (DPI) provides the only method for parents and citizens to track the performance and progress of their school district over time, as well as compare to other school districts. The DPI Scorecard is not a perfect tool to accomplish this objective, but it is the best available method today. Since parents and taxpayers deserve to have this accountability, and since DPI believes this program is not effective to measure and compare performance and progress, then it is incumbent on DPI to develop and provide a better assessment program and to make it consistent from one year to the next....

Happy New Year! How were your holidays? Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? Of course you didn’t. At some point, as we grew into responsible adults, most of us learned that there’s never enough money to get everything you want. One has to learn how to prioritize wants and needs and you stay within your budget. If you and I agree on that point, how is it we have an education system in Wisconsin that still believes “Santa taxpayer” can bring districts everything they want? ...

In 2024, Rock County First took Ms. Yeonmi Park’s advice to “act now to preserve our freedom and liberty” and put it into action, locally. As per our vision, RCF focused all its efforts locally as we believe it has the greatest and fastest impact on our citizens and local businesses. As the only formal and funded non-profit, common-sense principled organization in Rock County, RCF provided the much needed community leadership while delivering meaningful results which we believe would not have happened without RCF. We are very proud of our accomplishments and the many citizens, volunteers and donors who have made a positive impact in our community in 2024. Now it is time to accelerate the rate of change in 2025!...

Happy New Year! What a year 2024 has been. With most of the year overshadowed by the divisive nature of November’s Presidential Election, it is the local electorate that will determine the most impactful decisions and policies by electing good, solid, ethical, responsible leaders. I believe we’ve made some small steps in the right direction and are on the path to even more positive outcomes going forward....

Financial freedom from a local perspective is largely driven and controlled by local taxation. Most notably property taxes - School District, County and City - are a major expense of Rock County homeowners. Most people in Rock County know their property taxes are high, but few overburdened taxpayers know, Rock County’s property taxes are higher than 96% of ALL counties in the US! This is based on the percentage of income, or people’s ability to pay (Source: https://www.tax-rates.org/wisconsin/rock_county_property_tax). Suffice it to say that all local taxing authorities need to ‘tighten their belts,’ just as the citizens are forced to do in today’s inflation-ridden economy. ...