An open letter to the Albert Lea Chamber of Commerce:

You have published an Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce 2014-2015 book of things to know in Freeborn County. It is an interesting booklet, except there is one glaring inaccuracy that I am really disappointed that the chamber would print as fact without researching the truth.

On pages 32 to 33 you have information on each of the cities and towns in Freeborn County. Under the town of Freeborn, you listed the school district as: United South Central, Alden-Conger and NRHEG. I can imagine what the people in the Freeborn district would say if they had to pay school taxes for three school districts.

Over 20 years ago, the Freeborn school district combined with five other towns to form the new school district of United South Central. Alden-Conger and New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva are not part of that school district.

Yes, with the open enrollment opportunities, students from the USC district may attend any school they wish, including Alden-Conger and NRHEG or Albert Lea, Maple River or Timbuktu, just as there are students from the Albert Lea school district who attend Alden-Conger. But Albert Lea is NOT part of Alden-Conger, is it? So why did the chamber add the other school districts to Freeborn only?

I am really disappointed with the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce. Hopefully, in the next edition of this book, the Freeborn school district will be listed correctly as USC. Only USC.

 

Vickie Becker

Freeborn

 

Editor’s note: It was an oversight made by the Albert Lea Tribune in producing the publication for the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce. It will be corrected in the 2016-2017 edition. Thanks for the notice.