School bond

Given that today is the last day of the voting, I am perhaps a bit late in adding my voice to the discussion on the bond.

I don't know how many people read the letters to the editor and adjust their views according to the information they read therein, but there may be a few undecided voters out there.

To such people, I would offer this word of caution: all letters to the editor (including this one) are considered opinion and are not checked for factual accuracy. Newspaper editors are under no obligation to run fact checks on opinion/commentary, so I would encourage you, dear reader, to verify for yourself anything in a letter to the editor that doesn't hold water (again, including this letter).

A little bit of disclosure prior to discussing the upcoming bond. I am a school teacher at Royal High School and I am a property owner in Royal City. I am not, however, a farmer, and so I don't possess more land than my house lot.

I have therefore an interest in seeing the bond pass, and I will also see my taxes go up to pay for it. (Again, I admit I will not see as much increase as some community members).

Now for the bond issue: it is entirely reasonable to ask why the proposed building will cost $14 million. Some people have expressed concerns about waste and accountability, which suggests concerns of fraud or incompetence in handling the construction of the building.

As I understand it, the reason for this cost is because it will be a public building, and therefore must be built according to certain codes and conditions imposed by the government.

Maybe I am naive, but I don't believe that anyone is trying to enrich themselves or fleece the public through the construction of these new facilities. If you, the taxpayer, are frustrated that it must cost so much, the place to focus would be on the regulations that force a higher cost.

Please bear in mind, as you vote, the new school will do more than hold 167 students. Designed to hold 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, it will house over 300 students. It will allow kindergarten students to eat lunch at a reasonable hour, instead of 10:30 AM.

The new building will allow the high school basketball teams to hold practices right after school and not have practices that run until 7 PM. It will reduce crowding in the middle school during passing periods, which is currently a large problem and something that the portables did not and cannot solve.

The construction looks to the future by adding rooms to the high school for kids that we know are coming. As for state matching funds, these represent tax money that you, and other state residents have paid. That money is going to get spent somewhere, and you are going to pay for that whether the money comes here or not. But it certainly does not represent double taxation.

Again, I agree it costs a lot to educate the youths of Royal. But I would argue that it costs even more not to educate them. Please vote yes on the ballot measure.

Eric Carlson

Royal City