LETTERS: JACKSON RESIDENTS HAVE ALTERNATIVES

To the editor:

We plead with the good residents of the Jackson School District to take a second look at the weighty school bond and levy issues. This is not coming from a bureaucrat nor the administration. We are not running for the school board. We are simply citizens who work with the district and who have children who attend school there. We are looking at these issues from both sides.

If these proposals pass, real estate taxes will rise. This means that for those of us who escrow our taxes and insurance, our house payments also will increase. Will the raises in pay you might get this year cover the cost of the extra taxes you will have to pay monthly? We sincerely doubt it.

There needs to be an alternative way to raise money for schools other than real estate taxes. Maybe there could be additional taxes placed on certain luxury items or, since education is as important to children as food, we could add a food or restaurant tax. Soon we will not be able to afford to live in the city we have grown up in, gone to school in and are raising children in.

The district wants to add another elementary school and build a multipurpose building onto the junior high school in addition to adding 18 more classrooms to make room for future student growth. We have been told we eventually will need to add on again to North, the middle school, the high school and possibly others. A new high school has even been mentioned as a possibility for the far-off future after expansion is no longer available at the current high school.

With this plan we are creating a bottle effect: plenty of room at the bottom and nowhere to go on top. What happens when our children reach the current high school with no more room to build? Will that be the time to think about building a new high school? How much will these mini-expansions eventually cost over the next several years versus a major expansion at the present time? Would it be feasible to build a new high school now and redistribute the students in the schools we already have available?

The administration gave two arguments against this idea: 1. We cannot have an open campus for junior high students. It is felt those students would simply walk away from the school and not return. Would enclosed walkways or fencing help prevent this, should it become a problem? 2. Building a new high school would cost approximately $30 million. The proposal we have in front of us is around $15 million. Could it be possible that, even after building a new high school and making improvements to our existing schools, it would cost less in the long run than spending smaller amounts for the several mini-expansions?

A couple of months ago, we started going over student figures to determine how best to redistribute students in the schools we have at the present time. A redistribution would open up an enormous amount of space for new students. We would hope North Elementary students in grades K-4 could all stay at North rather than having one or two or five come into town because of overcrowding if we implemented a redistribution plan. Many possibilities exist and need to be explored with a community forum before major decisions are implemented.

Building a new high school would cost a monumental amount of money. Some taxes might go up if this path were chosen. However, we must choose what will benefit our children for the future, not what is convenient for the moment.

Is there some other way to raise the money we need to make a better school for our children and to afford to pay for the teachers and support staff who help guide students' lives? We challenge you to open yourself to new ideas. Help our school system develop the answers that will be best for our students, staff and community. Please place your vote April 4, and write to your school administration with your thoughts and ideas. We are the hope of our children, and they are our future.

RENE SMITH

TAMMY BIRI

Jackson