NEVC students deserve a new school -- vote yes on Prop S

To the voters of NEVC R-I School District

To begin with, we are registered voters and patrons of the NEVC R-I School District. A lot of the negative ads and letters you see are paid for by and/or sponsored by people that can not even vote in the upcoming election since they do not live in the school district. The only outcome of the election will be that it will raise their taxes. Do they really care about the NEVC children and their education?

If you are one of the ones who think that the new school is not needed or is not necessary, visit the old schools either at Schell City or Walker, but give up the idea of saving these two old school buildings, and yes, all of the building at Walker is being utilized. It was stated that the old building was just offices. This is untrue as it is all used for classrooms.

I attended school at Walker and they said then that Walker was going to close long before I graduated. It lasted for 26 years after I graduated, but the two schools should have gone together long before I graduated. Back then, as now, it was the adults, not the children, who were against it.

Ask the children what they think about the old school. They are excited about having a new school. Ask them! They know where the new school is going to be built and it is in the middle of the district. That is why that location was selected.

If you are going to live in a school district, any school district, you need to support the children of that district! Why were the schools good enough for you and your children, and now the schools are not good enough to continue to support and educate the children of today and the future?

I know it will raise taxes and I don't like higher taxes, but are the children worth it today? Were they worth it when these buildings were built many years ago? Yes! Now, these buildings have outlived their worth. Help to support the children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews and build a new school for them. Stop and think about the Children of today and the future! The taxes will be worth it in the long run, or who will tell the children that they are not worth it!

I challenge each and every voter to go to the two old schools and really look them over to see if they are in as bad of shape as everyone says before you vote. I am sure the office will give you a tour. Then make up your own mind as to whether a new school is needed. Make sure to go clear up to the third floor at Walker, all of the stairs and listen and look as you go. Upkeep is being done but you can only bandage something so long before you have to put the old horse or cow to sleep and buy a new one, or buy a different combine, tractor or pickup because the old one is wore out.

A number of comments have been made about the distance the new school will be from medical and fire protection. Both fire departments are volunteer, so even if one of the schools currently has a fire, it will take a few minutes to get a fire department there no matter which school it is, but they will be rolling just as fast as they can. Have you ever heard of fire drills? Maybe if you are thinking about the medical part, or even the emergency part, you should look at the condition of the buildings again and think what would happen if the current Walker buildings would fall in? Hopefully that does not happen, but hey, it's something to think about. Don't go around like Chicken Little and say the sky is falling, unless you are sure it really is.

We have given careful time and thoughtful consideration to this proposal, and for the sake of the children encourage everyone to vote Yes on Proposition S on August 3.

Thank you,

Glen and Alberta Hays

Walker