Vote 'no' on bond; use money for other things

Dear editor:

I cannot support the new school bond initiative. It is too grandiose in nature, scope and far too expensive.

Here are a few important facts to consider.

Fact one, compared to the 1998-99 school year we have about 418 less students and 33 less teachers in the district.

Fact two, during the same period hundreds of new houses have been built generating thousands in property tax revenue.

Fact three, property values have far outpaced inflation -- in fact the market value of property in Elmore County has increased 72 percent since 1999 -- again this has netted even higher revenues.

Fact four, the property tax break last year was quickly offset by a 20 percent increase in sales tax for school maintenance and an Emergency School tax Levy of $478,000.

Where is all this money going?

Don't forget the $172,703 our district got from the lottery last year.

Fact five, Replacement of numerous base housing units has forced military families to move into town. Upon completion of the base housing effort many families will opt to live on base. This will increase the need for busing additional students into town or force the reopening of at least one of the two closed schools on base.

With the layoffs at Micron it is difficult to predict at this time how it will impact our community and the number of students attending our schools.

I truly believe in giving our children the best education we can afford but it's time to look for ways to get more education for our buck instead of more buildings for education.

Our teachers are among the lowest paid in the nation. It is not the facilities that educate but the teachers.

In our district approximately 10 percent of K-3 grade read below grade level -- new facilities won't help them.

As taxpayers we need to get the most for our tax dollars, find ways to save and look for bargains.

I for one don't believe we are getting a bargain for our children's education dollars. We don't need to erect a monument to education but we need to reassess the monumental task of educating our children.

Vote no on Sept. 6.

Joe Haas