Proposals ill-timed, went beyond needs

The Tecumseh School Board’s request for $37 million for school improvements was denied Tuesday and sends our elected officials back to square one in addressing the needs of our school facilities.

At a time when the economy is in the dumps, district voters are not apt to see new football stadiums and athletic facilities, as well as landscaping and patios, as essential needs. It’s unfortunate that needed roof repairs and boiler replacements were wrapped up in a request that moved a principal’s office at one school, requiring major construction there when the same building was just renovated five years ago.

The campaign failed to create a strong citizen-based action committee like the one used in 1998 to pass the $33 million high school bond. While the board needs to improve its communication and credibility with the district, it also needs to gain support and utilize grass roots campaigns on major bond issues.

There was the Committee for Kids First, but it wasn’t enough. It takes more push, and more education to gain public support.

But it gets back to the economy, needs vs. wants, a high school that’s only 7 years old, and elementary buildings that were renovated only five years ago to suggest the timing for these proposals was wrong.

Some have argued that the proposals gave too much attention to athletic facilities and not enough to academic concerns. Proponents are quick to compare our track or fields to those in Saline, Dexter or Chelsea, but there’s no mention of how we compare on the academic level.

Sorting out priorities should be on the school board’s agenda as it moves forward following Tuesday’s vote.