Ridgefield resident Jeff Vigue shares this thoughts on the upcoming Ridgefield School Bond on the Feb. 11 special election ballot.
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
I have carefully looked and listened to both sides of the argument about the proposed February 2020 Ridgefield School District bond. Here are my thoughts.
Ridgefield is growing, everyone knows this. Because of the growth, the Ridgefield School District is expecting 1,760 additional students by 2024. From what I can see, there are three primary arguments against the bond and at least 1,760 arguments for it.
The three primary arguments against are:
• 1. I don’t want my taxes to go up
• 2. I don’t like growth
• 3. I can’t afford the additional tax increase
While I appreciate and empathize with these arguments, they really don’t make sense to me. Here’s why:
• Voting “no” because you don’t want your taxes to go up will not prevent your taxes from going up.
• Voting “no” because you don’t like growth will not stop the growth from happening.
• Voting “no” because you can’t afford the tax increase will not change your budget constraints.
Voting “no” will not change anything. It will not stop 1,760 additional students from coming. It will not change the schools from being overcrowded. Voting “no” will not solve anything nor change anything for the better.
On the other hand, voting “yes” may not solve your immediate concern, but it will solve the current problem of overcrowding in our schools. Voting “yes” is the only one that solves the immediate problem. Voting “yes” is the right thing to do. I invite you to join me in voting “yes” for the 2020 school bond.
Jeff Vigue
Ridgefield
