The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Dear Editor,

I've read up about the Dayton School District Campus (http://daytoncitizensforeducation.com/wp/) and bond issue, and I've realized that it needs a severe overhaul (a drive by the school area indicates that). Just from a facilities standpoint alone, I would hope all citizens would want to see things upgraded and brought up to standards for the kids' sake. Reading up on the science classrooms, I noticed that they are grossly inadequate for teaching science, and I applaud the efforts of those and other teachers in dealing with their facilities up to now, the best that they can.

I've seen arguments from those who home school, and frankly, I don't think they are helping themselves. I don't know the laws in the state of Washington, but perhaps, there is a need for more tax credits to those who home school or send their kids to private schools (?). However, voting no on this school bond issue is really a vote of "no" towards quality education in general in this country. Some parents don't have the ability to home school or send their kids to a private school, and frankly, they need a good public school system that is up-to-date in Columbia County.

Perhaps, the parents who home school or send their kids to private schools, and those who send their kids to public schools, should work together to help each other through the government (or at least, I think that's a better solution than voting "no"). Our property taxes are lower than some of the lowest in the United States (places that I lived at, in the past), so I see no reason why we cannot raise property taxes. I fully support the school bond for the Dayton School District Campus, and I don't have any kids in school here.

Steve Noffsinger

Dayton