MCC voters: Vote yes, Tuesday, for a better community

MCC High School

MCC voters: Vote yes, Tuesday, for a better community

Editorial by Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

I am addressing this to anyone who lives and votes in the Mason County Central School District. Tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 7, is your last day to vote on the school bond proposals. I am encouraging you to vote yes.

MCC’s vote is for two proposals. Proposal 1 is for various much-needed infrastructure upgrades — especially at the high school — along with major safety and security upgrades. Proposal 2 is for the construction of an auditorium.

This will be the third time in the last two years that MCC has tried for this millage. During the previous elections, the bonds were one package. This time around the board of education split them up.

The approval of both MCC bonds will mean a total increase of up to 2.27 mills in your property taxes (if you own property). The debt tax rate is estimated to be near the rate that was paid in 2015 and will be lower than what taxpayers have paid over the last 20 years since the previous bond was approved in 2006 (that was a 20 year bond which will expire in two years!).

For the average property owner, the cost of this bond will cost you less than your monthly cell phone payment or cable bill. Isn’t that worth our children’s education?

What many people don’t understand is that education is the foundation of our society. By voting against school improvements, we are sending a message to our children that they should look for another place to live when they grow up. After all, who wants to raise their kids in a community that doesn’t value education? My 10-year-old has already figured this out, tainted by the defeat of the past two bond proposals.

What do you think happens to a society when it doesn’t value education? Those who value education tend to move to communities that better line up with their values. In return, your nice little town sees more poverty, more blight, more crime. Property values decrease. Businesses leave. Let’s face it, it’s been happening in Scottville for the last 30 years.

Wouldn’t you rather live in town with nice schools? Wouldn’t you rather live in a town where we let our kids know that we, as a society will do what it takes to ensure that they have the best education we can provide for them?

So, you think an auditorium is just a “want” and not a “need”?

Imagine building a state-of-the-art facility that will not only be a learning facility for our children but will also serve as a performing arts center for our community. Suddenly, a performing arts series is created and brings people to town. Those people need to eat someplace. Do we want them to drive down the road to the chain restaurant or would you rather eat in downtown Scottville?

Imagine having the best performing arts facility in the county, matching the best competition gymnasium in the county.

For those of you who are of the conservative mind-set, which in our county is the vast majority of us, understand something. School of choice was created with much influence from the political right with the philosophy that it would make schools more competitive. You often here that schools need to be run more like a business. I agree with this concept. So, why aren’t we allowing our school to be more competitive and allowing it to reach all aspects of the socioeconomic spectrum?

Come on MCC voters, it’s time you do the right thing. Vote yes on Tuesday!