School issue will define this generation

Television newsman Tom Brokaw's book is entitled simply "The Greatest Generation." It describes the sacrifices made by our parents and grandparents during World War II when the government turned to them and asked of them extraordinary service, sacrifice, and heroics. Their efforts defined that generation.

This coming Tuesday is a defining moment for today's generation of Bellevue residents. Will we make the sacrifices necessary to give our children and grandchildren a chance at a better future? Or will we turn to our own selfish ways?

On Nov. 3, the Bellevue City Schools - not an institution - but your children, your nieces and nephews, your grandchildren, your cousins, your friends - are asking for a yes vote on a 4.9-mill, 38 year bond issue to raise $23,410,000 to build a new middle school and one elementary facility.

The Bellevue community is at an important crossroads. Yes, we have all suffered through this economy, but we have leaned on each other and we are surviving. The economy will turn around and when it does, will this community be ready to move forward or will it be stuck in the same old rut?

Our parents and grandparents lived through a bigger economic disaster in the Great Depression. Yet, they rolled up their sleeves and made the sacrifices to build new schools, hospitals and churches. They recognized the importance of the situation and what it held for the future.

All of us went to schools paid for by our parents and grandparents - the "newest" building in the Bellevue School District is the high school and it's over 45 years old! The old elementary and middle schools were never designed for the technology our students need to have to succeed later in life and become productive citizens of the community. The old argument - "they were good enough for me they should be good enough for my kids" just doesn't hold water any longer. The educational needs and methods of delivering them have changed dramatically over the past few decades.

Now it's our turn to pay and thanks to some of our tax dollars coming back from the state and federal governments, it won't cost us nearly as much. If approved, the bond issue would cost the owner of a home valued at $100,000 only 41 cents a day (less than a cup of coffee) or $12.52 a month (less than a large pizza). Those getting the homestead exemption pay even less.

So why - beside the obvious - is this bond issue so important NOW? Well, we all pay state and federal taxes and very rarely, if ever, do we get so see that money actually come back to help our community. This time we do.

The state is committing $16 million and we have the one-time chance at an additional $5 million in federal stimulus money - money we've all paid in taxes - to match our local contributions for the project. If we do not approve this bond issue, that $5 million in stimulus money - our money - will go help some other community and its schools.

And, it has never been just about the schools...it has ALWAYS been about the community. The city, chamber of commerce, Bellevue Development Corporation all work to try and bring new jobs to this city. Strong, modern schools can be the magnet that helps attract them here. Just look at Gibsonburg to our west. They passed a bond issue, took the state money and built a new school and that attracted many new residents and homes and increased the tax base.

Then there's the money to be saved through lower maintenance costs due to a newer building and less buildings to maintain.

Bellevue has suffered in this economy. But, by voting YES for the schools' bond issue on Nov. 3 we have a chance to turn things around. Approving this issue can began to change our psyche and give us a positive outlook for the future. It will show others we are a strong community committed to helping guide our future.

It's time we show our children we are a "great generation" like our parents and grandparents. Vote YES for the Bellevue Schools on Nov. 3 - our investment in our future.