This coming election, there’s an issue up for vote on whether our city should build a new school. I’m undecided, because I don’t know if it will truly benefit the kids.
There’s really nothing much wrong with the old school, except that it’s ugly–an old, Minimalist, ominous-looking box of a place. (The nearby prison is prettier.) It is in reasonably good repair, though admittedly high in maintenance costs, as are all older buildings of such size.
The student body doesn’t appear to have outgrown the school, either, because I’ve never heard any complaints about overcrowding. They’ve made no mention of any intention to hire more teachers, so I assume class size would remain the same.
All the ads mentioned was a need to “have the tools to prepare our children for the future,” and made vague reference to the “community pride.” Surely, if the need was pressing, some mention would have been made of the reason.
The tax increase doesn’t really bother me. It’s not all that much, and if a new school would benefit children’s education, I’m all for it. Which leads me to my question: does it have any benefits? If the teachers, texts and class size remain the same, is there any benefit to having a new building?
Opinions?