Dear Editor:
Well, I've had my coffee (it was good, too) and I find my opinion about the configuration of the school district unchanged. I've been characterized as the spokesperson for the 4 schools group. I'm not. I am, however, part of a large group of people (judging from the number of signatures on our petition) with a common goal in mind.
We have been called "stupid" and "retarded" for this common goal which is to provide the best possible education for our children. (Grandchildren in my case) Apparently people believe that if we close Eisenhower and Sheffield we are going to save lots of money.
First of all, any time you make a consolidation decision solely based on money, you are headed down the wrong path. Children suffer and there are many studies to back this up. As to how much money we would save, I'm not sure. You could put the students from Russell and Sheffield into Warren without a problem. After all, that school graduated classes in excess of 500 students and now they're down to 200 and less.
I don't believe that Youngsville could easily accommodate the students from Sugar Grove and Bear Lake. We're talking an additional 219 students based on current enrollment records, or another 36 students in each class of the middle/high school. So, either we deal with extreme overcrowding or we build a new school. How much will that cost?
And we still plan on keeping Beaty that needs 21 million dollars worth of construction, according to the last study that was done. We could save 21 million by closing Beaty, and use the money we would spend on a new school to fix Eisenhower, which has been largely ignored for any meaningful repairs for the past 20 years. What I think people aren't realizing is that there is no getting around the fact that we are going to have to spend money. Warren needs 14 million dollars in construction (according to the same study). As a taxpayer I believe I have every right to voice how and where that money is to be spent. I believe, after some research, that there is still room for compromise, with long range planning. We all could have a school district to be proud of.
Marcy Morgan, Sugar Grove