Letter to the Editor - A review of school bond facts

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Tonight I reviewed two letters about the new school

Tonight I reviewed two letters in The Daily Democrat letters to the editor. Both letters have many good points in them. The first was written by William H Napier. He makes a good case about providing for the future, and that our fore fathers have done that. He points out in the over 80 years he has been in Fort Madison that many of the schools he had attended had been removed from the school system. Some to be reused for other purposes. He Said “My point is that schools wear out or become inadequate for the purposes for which they were originally built.” To that I say if we plan and save for the future these short comings can easily overcome and if you tell me you cannot maybe it is because you do not have the desire to. So to voters I say read and understand what is being said. To the school board I say share what you’re thinking clearly and with good reasoning to make your point. On taxes he makes good points about why we pay taxes but, he does not bring the point that we are paying higher taxes because we do not get the full use of the one cent sales tax for education. Because almost $900,000 out of the 1.1 million dollars we get every year goes to pay for the middle school which the tax payers did not approve. The next letter was written by Fred Bindewald and was also well written. He starts out by asking the following,” Taxpayers should be seeking (and getting) a lot more clear answers about the proposed new elementary school. I’ve heard it said the reason the bond referendum failed twice so far was due to a poor PR job. Really? What if the promoters in fact don’t have good answers and we’re being scammed? That is a good question but scammed may not be the right word. He also says” I don’t really know, but I’d sure feel better if I could see a lot more clarification – i.e., facts without generalities and hype. Taxpayers don’t need a sell job; they need truth. Generalities and Hype are advertising terms not good reasons. Another good point he makes is how our schools are rated for quality of education and I do not know where he got his facts. Here is what he had to say. First, why is it that our newest, shiniest school (FM MIDDLE SCHOOL) continues to be rated “Needs Improvement” by the Iowa Department of Education? They’re not giving that rating for no reason, are they? They do know what they’re talking about, don’t they? Out of 6 possible ratings, there’s only one worse , “Priority,” which essentially means total disaster. How has that new building helped? He also points out,” Perhaps some taxpayers have forgotten that both Lincoln and Richardson schools are rated “Commendable” by the Iowa Department of Education. “. There could be many reasons for this but getting this school right first should be a priority. He is making good points here and I commend him for that. I believe the taxpayers of the Fort Madison School District given truthful and complete information and remembering all the things they had to go through to borrow money in their past,. and the example of the County Board of Supervisors in regards to the new court house bond, the taxpayers will make the right decision on April 3. Thank all of you for taking the time to read this.

James Lair

Elementary school, fort madison, Guest editorial, letter to the editor, opinion, Pen City Current, school bond vote

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