Perryville schools can now look to future

The jubilation among supporters of the school-tax increase that passed by a wide margin Tuesday in the Perryville School District was all but too much to contain. It was the first time since 1974 that district voters had approved a tax increase. As a result, district officials were looking at a grim future that included drastic cuts. Sports and extracurricular activities were on the chopping block.

But not all of Tuesday's voters in a huge turnout -- 55 percent of the district's registered voters -- were in favor of the 50-cent levy increase, even though 61.6 percent voted yes. And the reasons for opposing the tax increase were familiar.

One mother of two children in the district's elementary schools said she voted no because she felt threatened by all the planned cutbacks. Another couple with no children said only taxpayers with children in school should pay for public education. Still another voter, a graduate of Perryville's St. Vincent High School, said he thought parents of students at Perryville High School should pay tuition just like the parents of students at the Catholic high school.

Fortunately for the school district, most of the voters in the big turnout put aside all the issues that have divided the community, mainly between public-school and parochial-school supporters, and focused on the only issue that mattered: The needs of the school district and the cost of filling those needs.

The district did an outstanding job of community education. In the process, voters learned that the school district provides a high-quality education, but in order to continue programs such as sports, band and other extracurricular activities, more money was needed. Clearly, nearly two-thirds of the voters discounted claims that the district is loose with taxpayers' money or that the school board could impose tighter controls that would allow the district to keep all of its programs going with a tax levy set 27 years ago.

There are, undoubtedly, rifts in the Perryville community over its schools, public and private, that will never be bridged. But there is so much to be positive about in Perryville, and that should be the focus in the wake of this week's vote.

For one thing, Perryville can be proud that it has excellent public schools and excellent Catholic schools.

For another, the public school district can turn its attention to making the best use of the local-funding increase.

Congratulations to the Perryville voters who refused to be guided by history but, instead, chose to forge the beginnings of a new path for public education.