Bond costs only the beginning

I appreciate K.D. Marshall’s letter to the editor published Jan. 12. He points out, “If the proposed school bond passes, Moses Lake will have the highest school levy in the state.”

I would like to add more things for you to think about if the school bond passes. The tax increases won’t stop at just the construction bond:

-Every school we build requires the hiring of a complete staff to run it.

-The next school levy bond will have to be raised over its current rate by some unknown percent to cover the additional facilities and salaries.

I believe there are more economically sound solutions the School District should consider. Some examples are:

-Eliminate Birth-to-Three and preschool at the elementary schools to open up classrooms.

-Add an additional wing to some of the existing elementary schools so that the only additional long term expenses is the hiring of more teachers.

-Expand the current high school buildings and parking (to the South) by moving the high school practice track further south, and add a vehicle entrance to Yonezawa Boulevard to alleviate traffic on Sharon. Again, additional ninth-12th teachers and extra support staff will need to be hired, but not an entire new school staff.

Aren’t we paying enough taxes into the school system already? Solutions like these make more sense to me and can be more affordable for the taxpayer’s pocketbooks.

Wayne Ostler

Moses Lake