Starting next week a short Q & A column will appear on the editorial page explaining various aspects of the proposal to build a new school campus for USD 257 students.
The issue picks up from where proponents left it in the fall of 2008 when the stock market was on the verge of collapse and the Great Recession plunged the country into financial abyss.
In those six years, nothing much has happened to Iola schools except they have continued to deteriorate and a greater and greater portion of the school district’s budget is allocated toward plugging holes and patching roofs instead of going to where the money should go — to the education of students in the form of new technology, updated curriculums, better learning tools and better-paid teachers.
Over the past year a very dedicated school board and school administrators have worked behind the scenes to come up with what they believe provides the best learning environment for our children.
It’s an all-inclusive campus on the north edge of town, that’s a very viable distance. For most Iolans it’s a five-minute commute, by bus or car. Ten to 15 minutes by bike along the new rail trail.
The upcoming columns will address the concerns of vacated buildings, higher taxes, what it means if the Nov. 5 votes fail, if renovations are feasible, what change looks like, and the role public schools play in a community.
Stay tuned.
Q & A on tap
