Dear editor,
As an outsider looking in, because I do not live within the school district, and could not vote yes on the School Bond Issue, I wish to express my disappointment in those of you who voted No and defeated the school bond.
I am sure you think that you voted against an issue, but in reality you voted against our children and our children’s children. A state of the art school for both elementary and high school students would have definitely helped them achieve a better outlook on life and on their education, no matter what you might believe.
You voted No for all of the wrong reasons. You voted No for yourselves. You believed that your taxes would have been raised too much. (What price do you put on a child’s education?)
You believe that the old schools can be renovated for less money. Even though it was proven that more money will be spent on renovation than a “new.”
And, you believe that the bond money will be there in the future and could be obtained at another time. Which actually that is true. Except there is a dire problem with that belief and assumption. Down the road it will cost more money in taxes and the bond money most likely will not even be available in the near future if at all.
Mr. Brownback is now in office for another four years. And, he has a distinct dislike of spending money on education and our children. So, that will put us into 2019-2020. By that time with the rate of increased property taxes and possibly high interest rates coming upon us. A new school for Iola will most likely if not definitely be out of the question for our Iola children. Reason, because by then we will not be able to afford it at all.
One of the arguments I heard and read about prior to the election was, “If your house was in bad need of repair, would you fix it or go out and build a new one?”
I ask you, if you had a basement or a crawl space under your house full of mold and was told you had to get rid of it or you might contract some type of physical condition and you found that the cost was more than the house was worth, would you fix it, or go build a new one?
I ask you, if you had buckled floors, and the cost would be tremendous, would you fix it or build or buy a new one?
I ask you, if your family outgrew your house and you had no room for another child, and you were expecting one, would you add on, or go build a new one? This question, of course, is debatable. For instance, if your house had plenty of room in the back yard for building on, of course you would choose building on. However, if you were land locked and did not have the room, what would you do then?
I have lived in both Erie and Chanute and at the time had children in the school systems. And, while my boys were growing up both the Erie and the Chanute high schools had plenty of problems and issues. The bond issues were voted down time after time. So, finally in the 2000’s they passed. Which in a way that was good because of the changes and growth of the technical age. Both towns now have state of the art schools, which are good for the children, the teachers, and the parents.
But that is not an issue in Iola. In Iola, the schools are not adequate at all for technical abilities. In fact, the teaching abilities in the Iola schools are becoming more and more inadequate as the years go by.
I only wish that I had written this letter before the actual election, but I assumed (which I have been told never to assume anything) that the bond issue would pass, and the new schools would be in reach. Now, they are not in reach.
Why do I care? I do not have any children in the school system in Iola. I only have one grandchild in the school system here. Nor, will my great-granddaughter and great-grandson be attending Iola schools. They do not live in the area. So, why do I care? I care about our future and our future depends on our children. The day will come when the children of Iola will graduate and go on to other things.
University — jobs — careers.
If we as the elderly and the people imprisoned with only the manual labor jobs do not provide ample changes in our community to entice our children to stay, eventually the town will die a very slow, painful death.
That is why it is so important to meet change in the present and not wait for the future. The future may never come.
The new hospital, the new water plant, the new library, the new swimming pool and the bettering of the park, the new “dog park,” ACARF, the walking/bicycling trail are all new things that compliment our community. Even the new Super 8 Motel and the new movie theater, new restaurants, etc., all compliment our community.
And, with the Bowlus we are not lacking in entertainment.
Then, why — why — why not a new school?
Some of you will say, “Well, Iola is spending too much money that makes our taxes increase over and over.” My answer to that is a question. Would you rather everything stay the same and nothing new happens to eventually lead to the demise of a wonderful and thriving community?
My husband and I are living on a fixed income. We have expenses and property taxes to pay each year, just as you do. But, we definitely can afford a few dollars each year to subsidize the growth of our community, without complaining and denying growth.
I know this letter will bring a lot of not-so-pretty responses, but I just could not go to sleep tonight without writing it.
I for one am hoping and planning for a better future for Iola, Allen County, and the surrounding community.
Thank you for listening, or should I say “reading.”
Sincerely,
Carolyn S. Mynatt,
LaHarpe, Kan.
Letters to the editor
