Your Opinion: Cheating our community

Dear Editor:

Fifty-two years ago I came to Jefferson City to form a company called Modern Business Systems, selling and servicing office copy machines. We had a 13-county territory, in the very center was Jefferson City. We first looked in Jefferson City, but were not excited. We next visited Columbia, were quite impressed, and planned on headquartering our company there. Returning to Jefferson City that night we met an individual. He asked if we had children. We did. He said if we wanted them enrolled in the best school system in Missouri we would set our headquarters in Jefferson City, which we did. No one today would try selling a potential company on our present school system. My four children received excellent educations in the Jefferson City Public Schools. As did the hundreds of children of our many employees. Now I say, shame on those negative individuals who don't want our children to get the quality of education their parents enjoyed. Two high schools are a must.

Our community is not growing due to the overcrowding in our high school. People don't want to locate in Jefferson City because they fear their children will not get the education to become better citizens and grow to get better jobs. Two high schools are a must.

Think back to when you were in the eighth grade. Were you excited about going to high school? Imagine instead of high school, you were sent to a holding pen called Simonsen, a 100-year-old building. What an attitude killer. Just remember, the second high school should have happened 25-30 years go. That's how far behind the time we have fallen in our community.

As a student you wanted to attend more classes at Nichols Career Center. (A four-year college is not for everyone.) Yet you were smart enough to know you must have a trade to be productive for yourself and in your community. But the crowded high school was using 23 classrooms in the Nichols Career Center as regular classrooms instead of for additional trade classes.

Shame on us for cheating our students, for cheating our community. Low real estate taxes as we have yields $ 2-$4 a square foot less in rent. Real estate in our community is not gaining the equity it used to for retirement. We still have time. Vote "yes" on J, vote "yes" on C.

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