Dear editor,
I intend to vote YES on the school bond issue and the sales tax. We need new buildings for the sake of the children today and tomorrow. We need new buildings for the sake of our community. The members of the Board of Education have spent countless hours studying this issue and this is their sincere recommendation. The Board and its spokespersons have explained thoroughly how and why they decided this is the best solution for the students of USD 257.
I reread the Bowlus will recently. I am not an attorney, but what Mr. Bowlus says most emphatically in the will is that the building should be a fine arts and cultural center and that it effectively broadens the cultural background of our youth. There is no question that he intended for education in the arts to happen there, but he did not specify how they should be taught. Mr. Bowlus was a smart man who knew that time changes everything.
Sincerely,
Mary L. Martin
Iola, Kan.
Dear editor:
I recently bought my 6-month-old niece a onesie that said, “Kisses 25 cents, I’m saving for my college fund.”
Cute, right? I thought so; obviously, I bought it.
If my 9-year-old son wore a shirt that said, “Please buy some cookie dough, we need technology at my school.” Or “Save your box tops so we can upgrade our school’s technology” that wouldn’t be cute. However, his shirt would be true.
Basically, any technology upgrade that has occurred in our elementary schools comes from fundraisers via the PTOs. So it would seem the technology fund for our elementary schools seems to be sell as much cookie dough and chicken noodles as you can. Don’t forget to clip the box tops, too! With that as our technology funding, we have to hope our fundraisers are very successful. With varying sizes of enrollment at all three elementary schools it tends to make the technology unequal for the students. I know one elementary school doesn’t have iPads for the students to use in the classroom; the other two do. How fair is that to those students? Having to raise that much money takes time so until the money is raised, those students don’t have access to the same learning resources as students in the same school district.
I am in no way saying this is the fault of our administrators, school board or maintenance staff. This has happened because the district has more older, outdated buildings to maintain than we can afford. The money to upgrade technology is being used for maintenance on the buildings. There isn’t enough money to do both.
When we build a new school, the maintenance costs will be lower. We will have two fewer elementary schools to maintain! Utilities will be lower and more efficient. This will free up money for technology upgrades and other classroom upgrades that have been pushed aside due to needed maintenance.
Please vote YES for the school bond. Please vote YES for the sales tax. Please help stop the cookie dough and box top budgeting.
Kim Boeken
Iola, Kan.
Dear editor,
The time is now to vote “Yes Yes” for our kids. Our district has discussed the need for new schools for many, many years. It is unlikely we will ever have another opportunity to get 51 percent state aid. This is a way we can maximize our investment in our community, instead of our tax money going to other communities to better themselves.
Education is not just about buildings. It is also about great teachers. How can we attract or keep the best teachers if we have poor facilities, pay less and have out of date technology?
We need to be able to attract and keep the best teachers which in turn will improve our education and test scores. If a teacher is interviewing for a position in Iola and they are also interviewing in Chanute, Garnett or Humboldt, they will choose one of those schools because they have made an investment in their schools and kids. A vote “Yes Yes” would allow our district to be able to raise our teachers’ salaries (our district is $7,000 lower than Chanute and $5,000 lower than Humboldt), purchase new technology, library books and textbooks to benefit our kids.
The time is now to make our buildings safe and secure. Have you ever been driving down Cottonwood Street when high school students are changing classes? How safe and secure are our buildings when the kids have classrooms outside of the main building? How safe and secure is our elementary school when the office doesn’t have a window to monitor who is coming into our building or you have to walk across the Iola High School commons area to get to the office? Once in the building, anyone could go down a hallway or into a gym. At Lincoln, they are unable to put in a window in the office because of structural issues being prohibitive.
None of our buildings meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. How safe is it when your child or grandchild, who is on crutches from an injury, falls on the ramp to the music room which is slippery due to the weather? How does your child or grandchild feel when they have something special going on in their classroom and the parent or grandparent is unable to climb the stairs to attend? How does your child or grandchild feel when they are physically challenged and unable to play on the playground equipment like all the rest of the kids because we are not ADA equipped? The time is now to make our buildings safe, secure and meet the ADA requirements.
As secretary at Lincoln Elementary for the past 25 years, I have seen our school enrollment decrease in the last few years to area towns that have made an investment in their schools and kids. The time is now for Iola to invest in our children, our schools and our future. On November 4th I will be voting “Yes Yes” for our community’s kids.
Sincerely,
Brenda Leonard,
Iola, Kan.
