Its easy to get caught up in the small details of life and lose sight of the big picture. We want to be careful to not get so caught up in the smaller details of the school bond issue that we forget what its all about: the kids and our community. The main purpose of this bond issue is giving our teachers the tools they need for the children and future of Iola. The location of the buildings and other details are important (which is why the steering committee spent 12 months deciding on those details) but they are not nearly as important as the big picture. At this point, on a scale of 1-to-100 in regards to importance, the location of a school is a 5 and whether or not our community votes yes on all 3 questions is a 95. If we get too caught up in the details, well never give these kids and this community what it desperately needs.
Nicole and I would like to let you know how we decided to move to Iola and how the schools played into that decision. The way my family analyzed this is the same way other families have done and will do in the future.
Before we moved our children to Iola eight years ago the first thing we looked at was the schools. The online resources did not score Iola schools well. They were rated as a C-.
However, once we moved to Iola and met some of the teachers, we realized the teachers deserve an A. The teachers here are better than the teachers Nicole and I had at a private school. Much better. But, the teachers havent been given the resources to best help our kids be competitive later in life, whether they go to college or the workforce out of high school.
Nicole and I want our teachers to have those tools and the vast majority of the people I talk to want the same thing.
Nicole and I did not plan to stay in Iola. Why? Because we wanted to give our kids the same opportunity our parents gave us, which was great schools. We knew we loved this town that has taken us in, but we also knew we needed to do the best thing for our kids.
We were close to moving several times. Many of the friends we had when we moved here left Iola with their young families for better schools. The main point is that if we dont improve the school infrastructure and support our teachers, we will continue to lose young families. Instead, if we vote yes on all three questions on April 2, we will attract citizens.
Prior generations of USD 257 voted to improve schools and every single person reading this letter who went through USD 257 schools has benefited from prior bond issues. In fact, as of right now, it has been 27 years since a bond issue has passed. That is the longest bond drought in the history of USD 257! You heard me right, since the first school was built in Iola in 1868 there has never been a 27-year span that generations didnt pass a bond issue. The longest span before now was 17 years. We have the opportunity to pass this bond issue now. If not now, then when?
Lets not focus so much on the smaller details. Lets not bicker about whether the school should be in another location or have different features. The citizen-led steering committee already did their job. Lets vote yes for our kids, who are the future of this community.
Nicole and I are voting yes on all three questions April 2.
We are excited for question 1 to build a new grade school, not for our kids, because they will be out of grade school, but for the community.
We are most excited about question 2 for a new science building, cafeteria and storm shelter. This building will have a huge impact on the kids future careers. It is a no-brainer.
We are excited for question 3 because it is a basic need that must be met.
Check out the website at 257united.com for more information on all three questions.
Daniel, Nicole, Noah, and Bella Schowengerdt live in Iola.
