The School Bond Will Address Important Infrastructure and Facility Needs
I recently spoke at the Rye City Board of Education meeting to highlight my support of the upcoming bond vote. My view is simple: investing in our schools and the facilities that our children play on and learn in, makes total sense and is the right thing to do, from both a moral and an economic perspective.
My wife and I moved to Rye fifteen years ago because of all the town had to offer, great people, beaches and parks, safe neighborhoods, fun restaurants and bars, and, most importantly, great public schools. We have enjoyed our experience here so much that we have “recruited” numerous friends to our town and they have been impressed with Rye, so it has been a win-win, for all involved.
The only area where we have had negative feedback from new arrivals has been the state of our educational and athletic facilities. We had always enjoyed the school programming, teaching, and the sport leagues so much, that we had somehow missed the increasingly inferior and decaying academic and athletic infrastructure problem. It’s the one area where Rye lags our neighboring towns, and now that our eyes are open, we see constant examples of peer communities with much better facilities.
The bond issue fixes many of the issues and upgrades our facilities and will get our schools back to the condition they should be in. My family and our friends and neighbors moved to Rye to provide the best for our children and their friends and to build roots in a town that we can be proud of. That’s largely the case; let’s fix the one area that’s lagging as it’s great for our kids, their friends, future generations and, from an economic consideration, our home values.
Again, I think it’s a simple decision as our kids deserve secure and updated schools, modern libraries and learning tools, proper ventilation systems, and a turf field that is safe and useable for the entire community. We all maintain our homes and yards, why wouldn’t we do the same for schools?
Please join my wife and I in voting in support of the bond issue.
- Mark Whaling
