To the editor:
The voters of the Indian Creek Local School District have spoken. Whether you like how the vote turned out or not, it is now official - we can't afford to endlessly approve levies for new schools. What part of "no" do you not understand? Why do you continue to bully taxpayers by flawed logic to spend more of their fixed incomes, unemployment checks or low-wage paychecks? Many live on incomes that haven't changed in years, but they continue to plod along and cut costs anywhere they can. The state and federal governments keep cutting funds for education in the name of debt reduction, but those on fixed incomes are supposed to increase their taxes.
Quality of education does not now, nor has it ever, depended on the size or age of the building students use. Drop-out rates are continuing to occur in all school districts, not just in the ones that have older buildings.
Don't try to put the guilt trip on those who voted against spending millions for new school buildings because you think they're just being tight-fisted. Thirty-seven years is just too long to pay for new facilities. Do you realize that a student who graduates at age 17 will be 54 years old before the levy is paid off? That's if they stay here and don't look for greener pastures elsewhere.
By the way, where did the money come from to buy the roadside signs, billboards, TV ads and full-page newspaper ads? Who motivated those 19 students to write letters to the editor on March 3 and 4? Was that proper and ethical to use students to sell a tax levy? In my opinion, showing them that the end justifies the means is disgraceful.
Comparing the cost of a fast-food meal to the cost of education is bogus, especially when you realize that this is the way many people have to live to survive.
If people want to make an investment in the education of their children, they might consider getting more involved with them in the learning process and understand that more money for buildings will not contribute one bit to their future success. You can dress a skunk in mink, but it still smells like a skunk. Teachers are the reason kids get good educations, not new buildings.
It's been said that it takes a community to raise a child. But it takes teachers and parents to educate them. You can't solve that problem by continuing to throw money at it.
I hope that all those who cast ballots in the last election will show up in August to do it again. If you want to keep your taxes stable, you must resolve to vote in August just as you did in March. If not, you'll have higher taxes shoved down your throat. It makes little sense to go into debt for $22 million so the state will give you $7 and tax your home value for 37 years.
Stan Galownia
Mingo Junction
