[Vision2020] school facilities discussion

[keely emerinemix]

Thanks, Brent -- and, for all it's worth, I have experienced a great deal of 
support for last year's bond and this year's efforts from "old codgers," 
many of whom remind me that we haven't had much change in the buildings 
since they or their children were wee.

keely


From: Brent Bradberry <bbradber at moscow.com>
To: Art Deco <deco at moscow.com>
CC: Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] school facilities discussion
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 13:17:50 -0800

    I am one of those old codgers who vote. I welcome tax increases about as 
much as visits to the dentist. However, I make dentist appointments when my 
teeth need repair, and I vote for tax increases when my schools need repair. 
By "my schools" I mean, of course, public schools. Our own children are long 
past school age, but our youngest daughter attended MJHS and graduated from 
MHS (class of '88). We have a granddaughter who graduated from the 
Alternative HS and a grandson now attending MJHS (who would most likely 
graduate before he could benefit from any facilities improvements). But 
whether our own progeny benefit directly or not,  support for the public 
schools is a civic responsibility which I believe many  (most?)  older 
voters take seriously.
     I have only one suggestion re: the recent survey; my wife was one of 
those selected to respond, and we discussed the options. Although the 
options were clearly specified, I think now that the presentation of the 
three "packages" was inadvertently counterproductive because any individual 
might support one component of a given plan more or less than another 
component - thus causing a "leveling" effect on the results. I think it 
would have been better to have presented  the components individually (even 
those which are linked from a practical standpoint, such as the fates of 
Russell and West Park), and to have asked respondents to prioritize the list 
by ladder rank. I can't guarantee the results to have been clearer, but I 
think so.
    In any case, let's keep talking and thinking. I want to see better 
facilities in my lifetime!
Brent Bradberry
Art Deco wrote:

>Debbie, Keely, Jack, et al,
>
>We (my wife and I) have generally been very supportive of public education. 
>We have both benefited greatly from it.  We believe that a well-designed 
>public education program is an absolutely essential part of a participatory 
>democracy and a competitive country in the global marketplace [now more 
>than ever].
>
>Having said that, I will now be a curmudgeon again:
>
>
>In my opinion, it is going to be difficult to pass any significant school 
>bond levy because:
>
>
>2.    The percentage of citizens on fixed incomes who may not be able to 
>easily afford a tax increase has increased.  These are older people who are 
>more likely to vote.
>

--
Brent Bradberry, Ph. D.
Professor of Mathematics, emeritus
Lewis-Clark State College
Commander, U. S. Navy (retired)

1258 Wallen Road
Moscow, Idaho 83843-7445
(208) 882-2830

_____________________________________________________
List services made available by First Step Internet, serving the communities 
of the Palouse since 1994.                 http://www.fsr.net                
                 mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

_________________________________________________________________
Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! 
http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/