City officals endorse bond

Dear editor:

As elected officials, we felt it was important to step forward and express our support for the school district's bond proposal and the benefits it will provide for our students and community.

To pass the bond now is a practical choice. The need is there and the costs will only increase if the expansion and improvements are delayed.

The proposal is an excellent balance between bare bones necessities and enhancements that help our children face a competitive future. This bond will add new classrooms and a professional technical building that are badly needed. For $100,000 in taxable property, it will cost only $14.59 per month.

In addition, most of Mountain Home's schools have been there for many years. Being a frugal community, we have done an excellent job of maintaining them, improving them as needed, and fully utilizing them. As a matter of fact, the city enjoys a partnership with the school district that allows the schools to be used year round for a variety of recreation programs, meetings and events. This makes our schools one of the town's primary gathering places -- and the addition of an auditorium and competition gymnasium will only increase that value to our citizens.

Finally, in a fragile economy, we cannot afford to sacrifice our children's competitive edge. It will keep Mountain Home's schools one of the keystones for attracting jobs to our community.

We urge you to vote in favor of the bond on April 29!

Mayor Tom Rist

Council President Richard Urquidi

Councilman Russ Anderson

Councilman Geoff Schroeder