Of burgers and bond issues.

Burger King’s famous motto is, “Have it your way.”

That’s a philosophy that I can get behind 100 percent. Who wants to have it someone else’s way? Does your neighbor or uncle know you well enough to order your Double Whopper? (That was a trick question, because you shouldn’t eat that junk.)

When it comes to food, I want to have the final say in what I'm eating.

Maybe I'm picky or maybe I just attach this need for authority and control over what I'm paying for. I wouldn’t be exercising my freedom to spend my money how I want if I didn't. There's no way I'm eating pickles.

On May 7, I expected a full house when the Dexter Community School District held its first public bond discussion forum. This was a chance for the community (you) to tell the school district how to prepare the bond proposal. (Hold the land purchases?)

I expected a legion of residents to bear down on Creekside Middle School’s cafeteria, but the thunderous din of marching feet never came.

As was mentioned in the paper this month, I think forty to fifty people showed up, half of which were liaisons representing an organization, such as little league or some other athletic interest. There were, of course, some teachers and members of previous school district committees that were a given. Kudos to those folks for showing up, and their input will be invaluable, but I'm not sure that the whole picture could be gleamed from the feedback collected at the first forum.

Average unaffiliated residents or "taxpayers," as some of the few that showed up identified themselves, were pretty thin on the vine. Admittedly, this isn’t the most contentious of bond issues. The district isn’t asking for new money, but rather asking to renew money that residents were already paying for previous bonds.

It’s just a case of a school district trying to maintain available money that they are legally allowed to collect, as a way to pay for things that the state provided per pupil allowance (which isn't enough to sustain the majority of school districts) can't cover on its own. The alternative is to cut quality programs and services - an alternative that is a losing proposition for the community's children.

It will be interesting to see if people are concerned enough with the district’s needs to come out Monday at 7 p.m. at the same location for the second forum. It's not only important to get out and have a say so the money is spent in the right places, but also so school district officials can get a feel for what the taxpayers will get behind come the election.

Back to the overcooked fast food analogy - If you don’t like mayo, Monday will be the time to speak your peace. Either way, everyone in the district is going to have to take a bite, whether they like what’s between the meat and the bun or not.

Sean Dalton
The Dexter Leader