Tells taxpayers to wake up about school project

Vox Pop

I went to the elementary school Christmas program. The introduction to the program was given by Mr. Pat Sullivan. I was appalled that within his spiel he brought up the topic of building a new high school.

That was wrong.

This was a Christmas program. To utilize this captive audience was crass, and totally out of place.

The high school was built in 1969, and has been added on and added on since. If it had been maintained property through the years, we wouldn’t need a new one. What kind of lesson are we teaching our children. If something isn’t perfect or has problems, just throw it away or build a new one.

New doesn’t solve underlying problems. It is not the building that makes a good school. It is the good quality teachers and aides. Pay them more, and perhaps you could fully staff the school. With a new school you have to have the staff to take care of it. You have a hard time finding maintenance and janitorial help now.

Sullivan keeps asking for more money.

The taxpayers are fed up with the money requests, the football field, the pool and the sports.

The school if built and things start to go over budget, corners are cut, which down the line creates problems. There is a problem with the floor by the pool. Allocate more money to the maintenance department and keep things fixed.

Enrollment numbers are down. The farmers have had a rough time with milk prices being low and many other in this area are struggling. Not everyone makes what Mr. Sullivan makes. I would suggest that Mr. Sullivan and the school board look elsewhere to solve this hemorrhaging, endless money pit. Fix and repair, don’t replace.

A concerned taxpaying citizen.

— Catherine Bristol, Medford