Letters to the editor

By Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted: July 28, 2009 at 6:46 a.m.

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FHS proposal is just too expensive

FAYETTEVILLE — Thanks for publishing the information regarding the 4.9-mill increase that the Fayetteville School Board has asked voters to approve. We had not given it much thought until I actually figured out how much the property taxes would increase on my modest home. Wow, it turned out to be more than we thought. A state of the art high school would be a great luxury and something fun to brag about, but is a luxury that we can't afford right now. We will vote no this time. Perhaps the school district could fund the project through private donations.

Sandra Jo Chandler / Fayetteville

Millage request is worth our support

The Fayetteville Board of Education and the school administration should be commended for proceeding with great deliberation and care with respect to whether, where and how we should build new high school facilities. Each step of the way, our school board aggressively sought community input, and I can't recall more opportunities for public participation in decisions of the board. Although elected, the school board members are, in reality, unpaid volunteers who have devoted hundreds of hours to this issue. Every citizen in the district should be thankful for their sacrifice and hard work.

It seems abundantly clear that Fayetteville is desperately in need of new high school facilities, and based solely upon the letters published on this newspaper to date, no one is arguing otherwise. Instead, the arguments against a millage increase are based primarily on the cost of the proposed facility. In that regard, most have relied on the fact that our neighbors to the north have been able to construct new high schools for less money.

However, this is a classic case of comparing apples to oranges. The other districts chose a two-high school system while Fayetteville, after much debate, chose one larger high school. Although space does not allow me to provide citations to the various studies, anyone with a computer can locate literature devoted to the relationship between school size, costs, and academic achievement. My own research leads me to conclude that: a) multiple, smaller schools are more expensive to operate than fewer, larger schools; and b) achievement levels are generally higher in larger schools than in smaller ones. Thus, it appears likely that under the plan proposed by the school board, Fayetteville will pay less in the long run and better educate its students.

It's also important to understand that Fayetteville's current millage rate is actually lower that it was in 1995. In 1995 we were paying 44 mills and today we pay 42.8. Since 1995, the district has built three schools and completed $57 million in renovation projects without raising the millage rate. I don't like paying additional taxes any more than the next guy - but I believe in public education that our kids deserve the best facilities we can give them, and I believe that our school board and school administrators have done a thorough job of examining this issue. I think the board is taking us in the right direction, and I will vote in favor of the millage.

Russell B. Winburn / Fayetteville

Coach Booth deserved better

While I ran for John McDonnell back in the 1980s, I recall Dick Booth as being just as successful as coach MAC. If we did not have all of those leapers winning their events at the NCAAs, we would not have the rings stashed in our dresser drawers. In the matter of a few months, the proud feeling of being a Hog has changed to a state of confusion.

There are two common denominators with the names Conley, Lister, Wellman, Floreal, etc: They all won NCAA championships, plural! The second is that they were coached by the guy that just got fired. I have always rooted for the Hogs, even prior to my arrival in 1987. However, I hope to take a sabbatical in the cheering section until the Iowa guy is sent home. Arkansas was built with old school bricks and mortar. I bet Stanley Redwine would love to come home!

Paul Thomas / Tucson, Ariz.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 07/28/2009

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