By Chris Dinkel
School district bonds can be contentious issues because they directly affect two of the most important aspects of our lives – our kids and our money. For parents who worry about their kids attending schools without safe entrances or with inadequate educational space, opposing a bond to save money is inconceivable, yet for individuals without kids or who live on a fixed income, extra taxes levied for schools is tantamount to theft. Both sides make sense, and both sides need to be considered. The beauty of our democratic system is that both sides can be heard, and that’s been one of the most positive aspects of the work the USD 489 Vision Team has done over the past several months.
From the first Vision Team meeting, the conversation has been dynamic and evolving with significant contributions coming both from people who supported and opposed the last bond. It takes a lot of guts and conviction to be one of the few dissenting voices in a room full of enthusiasts, so I want to commend the people who came to every meeting despite being in the minority. Having supported the last bond, I made a point of sitting with several of its vocal opponents in order to make sure their reservations remained part of the conversation. It’s easy for a super-majority to dismiss the minority in the room, but I hoped that by cooperating with the individuals who expected to be side-lined, we would develop a better plan. To the Vision Team’s credit, they listened, and fiscal responsibility and long-term solutions became guiding principles for the whole process.
As a result of the cooperation among a broad range of Hays citizens, I believe we’re close to developing a plan that not only casts a positive vision for the future of USD 489 but also reflects the values of the Hays community. That couldn’t have happened without cooperation among individuals from a variety of perspectives, and I believe that the end result of this process will be as positive as the process has been.
Just as many people will vote Republican or Democrat regardless of the candidate, with an issue like this some people will support any plan, despite its downfalls, and some will oppose any plan, regardless of its merit. Even so, most people stand somewhere in between and need to see the value that a bond issue like this would bring to the community before supporting or opposing it. I supported the last bond issue, but I believe that community made the right choice in voting it down. The Vision Team is still working to hammer out the details of a plan to present to the School Board, but even in its unfinished state, I believe that the current plan will be excellent and one that the Hays community can proudly support.