LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: SELFISHNESS IS IMPEDING PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

To the editor:

I've been an avid supporter of the Jackson School District all my life. Up until now, I've kept rather quiet. However, recent comments by some people have prompted me to write my first letter to the editor.

The school board has received a lot of verbal abuse from a handful of people. Not too many people would go to the expense of time, energy and money to get elected to a non-paying job for the sake of a better education for our children. Yet these good people have received nothing but criticism form a small, vocal group, some of which have no grounds to criticize. One individual admits he has no children or grandchildren in the district and has lived in the district for about five years. In a recent letter in a local paper, this individual said he would work as hard as he could to see that any issue the board would put on the ballot would be defeated. People have the right to speak and criticize. I would consider this a slap in the face to all the people of the district who have spent many years and, in some cases, their entire lives trying to make a better school for the children.

The junior high bond issue will cost a $100,000 homeowner about $20 a year in increased taxes. But for only $20 a year, some people are not putting their children first. Children generally grow up to emulate their parents to one extent or another. What kind of example do you want to set for the children? An example of selfishness?

Some people suggest that we build fewer classrooms so the tax increase wouldn't be as much. To add eight classrooms now and then come back a few years later and have to add 10 more classrooms is not a logical approach. If only eight classrooms were built, they would already be filled by teachers moving out of storage closets and by teachers who don't have a classroom. Construction costs increase about 2.5 percent to 3 percent each year. To add 10 classrooms a few years later would cost a lot more per square foot than it would to build them now. In four years, the increase would be approximately 10 percent more per square foot than now. In a few years, more space would be needed, and the naysayers would complain about yet another tax increase. Foresight further than the end of the nose is needed in a situation like this.

Some people question the fiscal conservatism of the school board. I don't know of any business, household or school district that doesn't constantly look for cost-cutting measure. Yet some people say they are wasting money. They explained the other night about how they wanted to buy some more land around the primary annex in order to expand the playground. Somebody else bought the land and put up a small apartment building. That did two things. I increased the land value surrounding it, and it also kept the school from expanding its playground. A good businessperson must look ahead for future expansion and take appropriate action to see that these goals are met. Yet people criticize them for buying land around the high school when it becomes available.

The principals of the different schools are doing an excellent job considering what they have to work with. However, as time goes on, more demands will need to be met. When people don't have adequate facilities to work in, productivity declines. When students don't have an adequate classroom, education declines. The people who have been critical need to let go of their selfishness and start pushing the education wagon a little more.

Aristotle once said: "We become what we are as persons by the decisions that we ourselves make."

MACK ILLERS

Jackson, Mo.