Dear editor,
I’m voting YES for the 1/2 percent sales tax increase and YES for the 9-mill property tax increase on Nov. 4.
After reading the facts presented by the USD 257 school board and opinions presented by those for and against the building of the new schools, I am strongly in favor of the project.
I agree with all the reasons presented by the people who have written to the editor of the Iola Register in support of building the new schools now.
We can’t afford to let the 51 percent funding from the state for the construction of new schools to slip by.
It’s time to say YES-YES for the welfare of our community and the students who will attend our schools.
Sincerely,
Charlene Levans,
LaHarpe, Kan.
Dear editor,
Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when it’s to people and a place you love. My family came to Iola 15 months ago, on the pipeline, not knowing what to expect. What we found opened our hearts and minds. This town has been so kind and accepting to my family.
Bud at Iola RV is a sweet, hard-working man who has been kind and helpful to us.
At Adrenaline Fitness, which helped me step out of my safe zone, I met some of the kindest, most accepting, and caring people in my life: Sarah Noah, Cassie Michael, Amy Shannon, Mindy Aronson, Delia Sanchez and Jake and Jayme Browning, to name just a few.
Coach Doug Kerr helped encourage Caleb to try new things and taught him to see his own success. Kevin Pargman taught Caleb the value of working hard and showed him that good things come to those who try. Jake Browning helped Nate learn healthy ways to expend his extra energy. Shari Orear at Ready, Set, Learn Preschool took my little B right in, taught her a lot, but most importantly showed her love. Iola coaches, teachers, friends, peers, rodeos, employers (Kevin Pargman), and the community in general taught my children valuable lessons through their kindness. I cannot think of a place where they would have been taught better.
We loved hearing prayers at the rodeo and the national anthem before every event. Iola shows more community spirit than any other place we have been.
I have fought leaving; I loved it here so much that I never wanted to go. We learned to trust a little more and forgive easier. Every establishment we set foot in, from Quality Auto to the Iola Museum, treated us like we were part of the community. But the inevitable has finally come and my wonderful husband says it’s time to go. We will never forget this place. Our lives are forever changed because all of you and your little community of Iola, Kansas. This town and the people are truly gems in an ever-changing world. You will forever be in our hearts and memories. May God bless you all!
Until we see you again, goodbye and we love you all,
Mckenzie Klug and family,
Iola, Kan.
Dear editor:
Change can be a difficult and painful thing to accept. I understand and sympathize with those in our community who have considerations about giving up our current schools and building a whole new campus on the north edge of town. More than anything it’s the emotional investment we have in those buildings where generations of Iolans have been educated. However, there comes a time when we need to set aside personal feelings and look to the future and the future of this town. There are several reasons why we need to make this important but difficult change, and the best time to do it is now, not many years down the road.
First of all, we need to do it for our children and grandchildren. Investing in their future should be the overriding concern of everyone in this town, trumping all other considerations. You must ask yourself, “What’s best for the children?” and the honest answer would be, “Let’s give them modern facilities so that they can be the best equipped to compete in today’s world.”
The three-elementary school concept does not work in Iola any more due to population shifts over the last 50 years: it creates unequal classrooms where not every child receives the same educational benefits, it splits up families traveling to different parts of town, and it hampers the most efficient use of teachers in their collaborative efforts and classroom size. Also, as many have pointed out, the current schools are not built for handicapped accessibility, current security concerns, and the technological requirements of our Internet-based generation.
Secondly, we need to do it for the future of this town. Iola is not going anywhere, it is not going to wither up and die. This is a vibrant community that will be here for many more generations and we need to be good caretakers of our community and invest in it.
Over the last dozen years the town and county have done just that by building a new water plant, a new hospital, a new pool and community building, a new jail, new soccer fields, a new dog park, a community garden, new hiking and biking trails and new playground equipment for the kids. Many businesses downtown have upgraded their look and we have one of the most attractive town squares in southeast Kansas.
This town has a positive investment in its future and that is what prospective businesses look for in communities.
New educational facilities can also help with the recruitment of new doctors and health specialists. We will need to recruit many new teachers in the next 10 years since a large percentage of our current teachers will be retiring in that time.
Many people commute from out of town to work in Iola. Investing in new schools could be an incentive to persuade some of them that it makes sense to relocate here to save on commuting. Families go where the good schools are. Besides, the current buildings can be re-purposed as senior housing, community centers or be taken down and we could use the land for parks or new housing developments. This would be a process and it might take a few years for that kind of a transition, but the community can take that change in stride and emerge better for it.
Finally, new schools make financial sense. The State of Kansas will pay half the expense. We will get two facilities for the price of one. We’ve already been paying for everyone else in Kansas to get new schools through our contributions as taxpayers to the 50 percent formula. This includes new schools in Chanute, Garnett, Erie, and Coffeyville.
We would also save over half a million dollars a year in energy costs that could be applied to educational needs. The cost to us would be minimal. Yes, there would be a slight raise in taxes each month but that would be about as much as a combo meal at the A&W. Aren’t our kids and our community worth that?
The current schools have served our children well — my youngest child is finishing up her last year at the high school and yes, both my children received a good education here. However, it’s not about the present — our teachers are doing a great job with what they have. It’s also not about the past — many of you in the community did get a good education here in the current buildings. It is, however, about our future, and now is the time to take that big step.
I know it’s scary and sorrowful to leave behind facilities that have served us well in the past, but we are not being good stewards for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren if we settle for just making do.
Please think of our children’s future as well as the future of this community and support the Board of Education’s recommendation for a new school campus.
Sincerely,
Tony Piazza,
Iola, Kan.
