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My name is Joe Datzman. I'm a bus driver, my wife is a driver as well as a paraprofessional. We are members of the support staff at Northland Community School District which has not had a contract since June 30, 2011.

I'd like to point out to the taxpayers of ISD 118 the fact that this district enjoys the benefits from the expertise of some 20 plus para-professionals, kitchen and custodial staff with over 200 years of combined service PLUS nine bus drivers with over 259 years of combined service.

These employees have interacted with children and their families in this community for generations. They are people who care about the children and families in this community partly because they live in this community. We are people that know these children well enough to recognize when something may be troubling them and let administration know, or even to make a personal contact to a parent because they know them well enough to talk to them and discuss the issues. Children and their families as well as the district have benefited from those years of service. These are tangibles you don't have with a frequent turn over in personnel.

I ask the taxpayers; Do you really want to jeopardize the loss of that expertise by sitting by and watching the School Board take away what we have worked for all of those years?

If not, please contact: Tandy Kibbler, Etta Shepard, Diane Jensen, Terry Gross, Dan Switzer, Donna DeNeui and ask them to settle a new contract with the MSEA support staff without taking away benefits.[[In-content Ad]]

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