Ken Graham: From the Editor

A s this issue of the Times went to press, initial results showed that the Dayton School District's capital bond levy was going down to a big defeat. This isn't a surprise, but it leaves the Dayton community with a problem.

The school facilities are getting pretty worn out and maintenance costs are mounting fast. I've talked to a lot of people over the last couple of months about the proposed levy, and even most of the people who planned to vote no didn't argue with any of that.

But they question the cost of the proposed project, saying that Dayton area voters can't afford the increase in property taxes. Well yes, $20 million is a lot of money. But right now, taxpayers in the Dayton School District pay just about the lowest taxes around. Even if the levy had passed, tax rates for schools would still have been slightly lower in Dayton than they are currently in Waitsburg or Walla Walla. So when voters say they can't afford the higher rates, I have to wonder, how are the people in Waitsburg and Walla Walla affording even higher ones?

Another thing I heard over and over was that the schools weren't doing as good a job as they could be. Why should we invest more of our tax money in the schools when they aren't doing as good a job as they should.

Well, that's sort of like a business owner saying she refuses to invest money in her business until her employees start doing a better job.

There seems to be a disconnect between many local citizens and our schools. A lot of voters look at the school district as a separate thing that should be supported only when the people running it are doing what we think is an outstanding job and our students are all excelling.

What we forget is that the people running the schools are our employees, at least indirectly. We elect school board members and they, in turn, hire administrators who, in turn, hire teachers and staff. All of those people work, at least indirectly, for us.

Every two years, one or two school board positions come open. And yet it's been over a decade since the Dayton School District has had a contested school board election. We struggle to get one person to run each time, let alone two or more.

I've been to school board meetings where I was the only person there who wasn't either a board member, an employee or a student.

The best way to get better schools is for more citizens to get involved. Sure, most people can't take the time to attend school board meetings regularly, much less run for one of those positions. But when school board elections are coming, find out who's running, and encourage others to consider it.

And when meetings are held later this year to discuss revised plans for modernizing the schools, take the time to go to one and learn the details of the project, and the financing.

These people are putting a lot of time and effort into trying to figure out how to make the schools the best they can be, while trying to spend taxpayers' money wisely.

If you're unhappy with how the schools are being run, just saying, "Heck with 'em, they ain't gettin' my tax money," isn't going to solve the problem. That attitude will only make things worse.