Readers write on Wichita school bond election Tuesday | Opinion

Schools create leaders

As a longtime sportswriter for the Wichita Eagle and founder of the youth baseball organization League 42 here in our city, I have been a strong proponent of Wichita Public Schools for decades.

I have taken a strong stance to support past bond issues in print as the Eagle’s sports columnist. I believe continued attention to our facilities goes hand in hand with a continued emphasis on curriculum and learning. One cannot succeed without the other.

My son attended OK Elementary School and Hadley Middle School. Hadley has been closed and OK is one of the schools that the district has chosen to close.

It breaks my heart. But when I look at the bigger picture, and how we can continue as a viable, efficient and vibrant school district, I understand why these tough decisions regarding school closings and school renovations are being made.

I see USD 259 children almost every day in my role with League 42. Our baseball league is made up mostly of kids who attend Wichita schools, and they are full of energy and ambition.

They are proud kids who want to learn and do so in the best and safest environment possible. Their parents strive for them to find a path to success. And all of that is made easier with up-to-date facilities that foster a creative learning environment.

Our kids spend hundreds of hours in our schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. They learn there, and not just academically.

Schools mold our young men and women to become leaders in all of life’s capacities.

I strongly favor the USD 259 bond vote on Tuesday, and I do so as a champion for kids.

USD 259 misleads

Justice does not protect people from their own poor judgment: that is the role of education.

But justice should protect them from false or misleading claims by those seeking to get money from them.

The recent zero-rate-change flyer mailed to voters on the USD 259 bond issue is subtly calculated to mislead (if not prevaricate) by inserting the word “rate” between “zero” and “change).

Borrowing more money always means change, no matter how it is sugar coated. And who, except God, can say what the future holds when it comes to repaying debt?

It is time to stop deceiving ourselves about borrowing and to live with what we have — even if some claim that is unfair to our kids and grandkids. “We” should have thought of “them” sooner, but it’s not too late.

Americans probably deserve to be deceived by their public officials. We are generally uneducated and often unthinking.

But some things are such common sense that even a child can see the truth. More debt for anything at this point in American history is profligate.

It’s long past time to think of future generations. Let’s stop borrowing and start doing with less. No more debt, just better education will do fine.

Coats in classrooms?

I was disgusted when I received a “Vote No Bond” mailer that states “Buildings are not the problem.”

That is just not true. Most of these schools are old and in desperate need of repair. In one school, the children had to keep their coats on to stay warm in class.

I am a residential real estate appraiser and any appraiser will tell you neighborhood schools matter in property values. Yes, your taxes may go up, but typically your property values will too if you have good schools in your neighborhood.

It would be interesting to know just what dark money in involved in the vote no campaign. I would be willing to bet their children are not having to wear coats in their classrooms.

Investing in our children’s learning facilities is money well spent.

Buildings don’t educate kids

Here we go again. The Wichita school board has hatched a half-billion dollar plan to close several schools and build new ones in the district — another disaster in the making.

Our schools are failing our students and the leadership wants to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Recall in 2008 — a bond issue was proposed specifically for making major improvements to Southeast High at Lincoln and Edgemoor.

The bond issue passed and it was decided not to improve Southeast, but to build a new campus at the city limits. Sixty million dollars and seven years later, the new Southeast was opened. Busing costs, new utilities, cost overruns, paving and traffic lights contributed to the expense. Meanwhile, school test scores and other metrics continued to sink.

New buildings don’t educate students; qualified and well-paid teachers do, using a sound curriculum and employing methods that have worked for centuries. Even if the board does what it plans within budget, will it help our failing schools?

This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM.