Bond represents school’s future

Those of you who have always voted in favor of bonds, whose kids are receiving or received a great education, and are planning to vote no, consider the needs of teachers and kids now and in the future, not the needs of decades ago. Simply said, our buildings are crumbling; what was necessary 60 years ago is not in any way similar to the needs of today in terms of technology, spaces, after school programs, safety standards and health regulations. What argument can we make for prospective families when all we will do is create a new wing to MacDonald Middle School, make minor repairs to our schools and probably close two more schools? How can realtors promote East Lansing with those facts to work with? Residents from neighboring school districts are dumbfounded when they hear that taxes won’t be raised, having seen the positive results of investing in their schools.

To put it into perspective, our buildings have been witness to the birth of the baby boomer generation all the way to the election of Barack Obama. How many more decades will our buildings have to endure until we fix them? Think about our kids taking music classes in the gym, no science labs, no Wi-Fi readiness in the schools — unless you are in the hallway — no ability to heat up food and instead having to transport it in a bus and no room to store personal or class materials. The one that kills me is the air quality of Whitehills Elementary described as “not good,” thanks to the lack of energy-efficient and greener equipment.

The so-called “better” plan tells us nothing about what will be done to our schools. I think that it will not even meet the needs and demands of the “no” group. Minor repairs that will be required for these buildings will add up to the point of having to raise taxes just to keep them working. Why not embrace the strong correlation between smaller schools and better test scores and the importance of more involved parents? Why not listen to our teachers and families who have not been able to express their support openly to the bond for fear of being labeled fiscally irresponsible, discriminatory to minorities and not focused on student achievement?

Voting yes represents progress: new technology, safe buildings and new families moving in. Times have changed and will keep changing, but our commitment to our schools shouldn’t. The time to invest is now, not in a couple of months and not next year. Our community will appreciate it now and many more decades to come … so vote yes on the 28th, support East Lansing Public Schools.

Nicolas Gisholt, East Lansing resident and academic specialist at MSU’s Center for Integrative Studies