Column: there are 8,432 reasons to vote for school bond

Let's imagine you are at work. Your employer's facility was built in the 1950s. The landlord has refused to provide air conditioning. The building is hot in the summer. The windows are antiquated, and drafty.

The heating system is inefficient and the insulation in the walls does not met present-day building codes so you are either too hot or too cold. You have a computer but because the 1950s wiring in the building did not anticipate computers, you experience constant downtime and frustration. Updated technology could make you more productive but the building will not support an upgrade.

The telephone system is overloaded making it unreliable and the building does not provide you with appropriate security. How would you feel?

Most of us would be pretty upset.

These are the conditions under which our children work and learn. One-third of Carson City School District's facilities were built in the 1950s and all or some of the above-described conditions are present in these older facilities. Every 20-30 years, a responsible landlord must renovate their properties and the school district is no exception. A cost of renovation is over and above ordinary maintenance that is usually covered by ongoing cash flow. Often landlords borrow money to complete major renovations.

The passage of Question No. CC1 will allow the Carson City School District to be a responsible landlord and will provide the children of Carson City with a decent, safe place to work and learn.

Why would anyone be against children having a decent, safe place to work and learn?

Since my involvement in the passage of the 1990 school bond, I have learned that there are at least a thousand reasons people give, if they are not inclined to vote for a school bond.

I don't like my child's principal, teacher, bus driver, or janitor. I won't vote for a school bond because my children are grown. I won't vote for a school bond until the casinos start paying their fair share. I won't vote for a school bond because the schools educate illegal immigrants. I won't vote for a school bond until the schools buy more textbooks. I won't vote for a school bond until the teachers' union is dismantled. I won't vote for a school bond because the schools are too crowded. I won't vote for a school bond until public education is perfect. I certainly will not vote for a school bond until the school district is held "accountable."

The word " accountability" is seductive because everyone is in favor of accountability. The question is, "whom we are making accountable." In most cases, the only people made accountable are the children. For example, under the guise of accountability, the state has required that all students pass the High School Proficiency Examination as a condition to graduation.

Who is being made accountable? If a student doesn't pass the examination, will the administrator suffer any consequences? Will the teachers suffer any consequences? No, only the students are punished for failure, so who is made accountable?

Likewise with the school bond, we must ask, "who will suffer if the renovations are not completed"? The answer is the children. Will it affect the administrator's pay? No, it will not. Will it affect the teacher's vacation? No, it will not. Will it affect the school bus drivers' benefit package? No, it will not.

I, too, favor accountability, but in our quest for accountability we have too often targeted those least able to defend themselves, the children. While there may a thousand reasons not to vote for the school bond, there are 8,432 young souls who attend school in Carson City and in my mind they are 8,432 good reasons to vote YES for Question No. CC1.

Linda E. Johnson is a wife, mother, attorney, a 25-year resident of Carson City and long time supporter of children.