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Jason Gatties, won't you puh-leez come to Delaware and be a university trustee here?

For reasons both personal and professional that I won't (can't) detail, this letter to the editor (published by the Niles Michigan Daily Star) by Jason Gatties, the Libertarian candidate for Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees makes me crave elected trustees in the First State for UD, DSU, and DelTech.

Which ain't gonna happen.

[Reading this, understand that millage refers to the LMC ability to raise taxes--ala our own public education system--to support itself via referendum]:

To the editor:

As both a candidate for Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees and concerned taxpayer, I urge your readers to once again reject LMC's millage proposal that will appear on the ballot this November. The Board of Trustees may try to justify the need by saying the millage increase will be less than $25 per year for those who own a $100,000 home. However, the Board of Trustees must stop "begging" for taxpayers money and stop "threatening" to end certain programs and start acting fiscally responsible.

Under my plan, we could avoid a millage increase by thinking "outside the box." I call for the privatization of certain non-academic services, combining departments and the elimination of non-essential administrative positions. I would also explore other ways the private sector could donate to the school without forcing another millage. We are a very charitable community, those of us who can afford to give will do so, but do not force that action upon us with another tax increase.

It is not the fault of the taxpaying public for your continued mis-management of school funding. Don't ask the public to clean up the mess you helped create.

Jason Gatties

St. Joseph
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