Dear editor,
My wife and I are retired, but keep busy working on our home to keep it looking nice. We have just so much to spend, our income is limited. Our basic needs have to be met first. We have meds, utilities, food, vehicle expenses, and you name it. Sports are popular and there is no problem getting funding for any sport. The SAT scores need improving. If a kid is getting less than average grades then it’s time they spend extra time studying at home or in school. Put the iPad away, turn off the TV and get to work. High school is the time a student needs to be preparing for college. If their grades are just average and they had to work really hard to get that then they will be having a rough time in college.
Again this year we are facing the same old scare tactics, “We need a new school!” We wonder why was there not some upgrading in the labs and other areas in the school a little each year or so? Much of the maintenance and general repair done by the custodians during the summer has been discontinued. Why? The voters have voted twice against the bond issue. Read the Register and note all the requests from the food pantry needing help. Many each winter need help with their utilities. We are paying on several projects completed in the past, such as the water plant, jail and the hospital. We have water lines and sewers that are 100 years old and need to be replaced. The list could go on and on. Each year a list of unpaid taxes ranges from $400,000 to $500,000. There’s a problem.
The bottom line is we senior citizens are unable to take on more debt. We want to see better SAT scores and kids more sincere in learning what their teachers are trying to teach them. Reports from some teachers indicate that most, not all, students lack skills to go on to college after four years of high school.
Thank you,
Jim and Martha
Heffernon,
Iola, Kan.
Letter to the editor — December 27, 2017
