Editor:

Preble Shawnee community members: On Nov. 8, the Preble Shawnee School Board will be asking you to approve Issue 19. If approved, this bond issue will allow the district to move forward with a plan to build two new state-of-the-art, secure, climate controlled, ADA compliant, buildings in our district.

The plan calls for a Pre-K-5 Preble Shawnee Elementary in Camden and a 6-12 Preble Shawnee Middle-High School Building on Somers Gratis Road. A great thing about this plan is the fact that the state of Ohio has agreed to pay 65 percent of the cost of the construction. We will be responsible for the remaining costs. The District will be asking you to agree to pay 2.5 mills of property tax (the same amount that just rolled off your tax bill last year), and a .75 percent income tax (the same amount that will be rolling off at the end of this year). What it amounts to is that you will be paying the same taxes as you paid in 2015, and we get two new buildings!

Occasionally I hear people in our district complaining that we don’t need new buildings and that our kids certainly don’t need air conditioning. Even when they are told that our current buildings are in need of urgent repairs (plumbing, electrical, heating systems, roofs, etc.) that the state will not fund, they say our buildings are “good enough.”

It pains me to think that there are people out there who think that “good enough” is an acceptable standard. Is that really our Mission Statement? “We’ll meet minimum standards.” Is “we got by” what we are aiming for? Is that the legacy we want to leave our children?

Our students, staff, and communities deserve the absolute best that we can provide.

Please join me in voting “for” the Preble Shawnee bond issue and help to build our future!

Robin Wood

Camden