LETTER: Board has worked with public on bond proposal, my mind has been changed

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Twenty some years ago, I developed a serious case of the ass toward the school board and the superintendent of schools. I was active in adult sports at that time and had kids that were starting in the school system.

If I remember correctly, there was a levy on the ballot to remodel one of the schools, but it would also fund a major revamping of all of the athletic fields and track. I convinced a lot of my friends and customers that we needed to pass the levy primarily for the fields. The levy passed, and I thought we would finally have the fields we needed to handle all of the use. As luck would have it, the remodel ran over budget, so they took the money for the fields to help pay for the remodel. Needless to say, I felt like we were conned and haven’t supported a levy since, until now. I expressed my feelings to superintendent Michael Soltman and Todd Pearson, and they walked me through what the existing conditions were like and what the bond was going to do.

I am a big supporter of spending the necessary money on maintenance rather than having to replace things before the end of their expected life and this is the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. It looks like we have some school district leadership that thinks that way and, for that reason, I am supporting this bond. To continue to subject our teachers and kids to the conditions at McMurray doesn’t make sense, especially for a worst case scenario of $60 a year for a $500,000 house.

I don’t think we have an option but to pass this bond. Things are only going to continue deteriorating if we don’t. The opportunity to have a year-round field we don’t have to water, mow or close down because of over-use and a track that will allow for home meets seems too good to pass up. Please support this bond.

— Ed Palmer