The wisest action sometimes is inaction.
After reviewing the results of a poll on school facilities, the Jefferson City Board of Education has indicated if will not place a facilities proposal on the April ballot.
The poll revealed:
• Construction of a second public high school was favored by 58 percent of respondents.
• Construction of new east side elementary school and adding classrooms at Callaway Hills Elementary was favored by 44 percent.
• An increased tax levy for operations was favored by 46 percent.
Approval of a bond issue or tax levy in the April election would require a 57 percent majority.
Although building a second high school might clear the bar, poll results indicated the ongoing operational costs would not.
Passage of any ballot issue depends on multiple factors. Among them are: demonstrated need, reasonable costs and an atmosphere of confidence.
Building needs - identified by a Long Range Facilities Planning Committee - largely are not in dispute.
New buildings are expensive. Although construction costs may be comparatively reasonable, each voter must decide whether they are affordable, based on their household budget and spending priorities.
A climate of confidence in the school district is more difficult to measure and always changing.
A series of incidents in the recent past have eroded that confidence. They include:
• Comments at public forums from educators and patrons contending teachers are demoralized and a lack of student discipline is harming overall learning.
• The resignation of the high school principal and announced retirement of the district superintendent.
• A lack of public input in the board's selection of a new superintendent, who will begin his tenure later this year.
Clearly, a restoration of public confidence would improve the climate for passage of a ballot issue for school facilities.
An argument based solely on need, and rising construction costs, could make a convincing case to avoid delay in placing a facilities plan before voters.
The bigger picture, and the poll results, favor postponing action. District voters rejected a plan for a single, new high school in April 2013. Rather than risking repeated failure, we encourage improving the climate, criteria and conditions for success.