LETTER: NOSD board: Stick to education, stop helping land developers

To Ozaukee Press:

Winston Churchill once paraphrased, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”

I see that yet another developer has a grand plan for Fredonia. Probably worth millions of dollars, but just can’t quite make it work without directing storm water onto the Northern Ozaukee School District property.

The district has a history of poor decision making when it comes to development stormwater. The first endeavor from the Emerald Hills subdivision had to be rectified years later. The remedy was a six-foot-deep ditch traversing the district property on the south end below the football field. To this day, this still hinders district use of its own land as seen during the past referendum expansion.

Currently there is a retention pond next to a drainage ditch placed where children walk past to and from school.

Next there was the Mastercraft fiasco. Here a 160-acre development couldn’t proceed without first putting six acres of stormwater into the district wetland. That agreement irreparably damaged two neighboring properties. This ultimately cost the taxpayers over $250,000 in legal fees for a $3,500 ditch to redirect that development storm water. Nearly four years were spent diverting student funds to a lawsuit brought on by the district itself.

(Note: The district dropped its own lawsuit on the eve of the trial. Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Paul Malloy repeatedly stated the district was reckless and irresponsible with taxpayer funds.)

Eventually there will be a vast amount of development in the area. Previous school boards have ensured the district is equipped to handle that expansion, both
for the community and the school district.         

Allowing another development to take away district land for stormwater retention would put future boards at a disadvantage when required to handle their own facility and stormwater needs.

I would urge the current board members to stick to educating children. Do not be blinded by a promise of additional student counts. Developers will always make money. Don’t make it easy for them.

Kendall Thistle
Fredonia

The letter writer is a former member of the NOSD school board, who was involved in the lawsuit mentioned in the letter.