LEVY: Keep Lakeland school buildings safe

I vote yes on the Lakeland Plant Facilities Levy on the May 19th ballot. We must keep our buildings safe, functional and ready for our students and community each day.

Tim Haag and his facilities crew do an amazing job keeping the buildings up to date and ready to use on a daily basis. They do their best with the resources they are provided. However, just like regular maintenance on our personal homes or cars, sometimes more in-depth work is required. This is the issue we are now facing with some of our school buildings.

I appreciate the argument by some in our community that they do not have children or grandkids in our public schools and are hesitant to vote to raise their taxes. However, our school buildings are used on a weekly basis by community organizations not affiliated with the schools: parks and rec teams and other sports clubs. These buildings are not only for children and parents in our schools, but everyone in the community. I am confident that each of us is connected to someone or some group that uses our school buildings.

I love Idaho and am blessed to live here. Unfortunately, the current public school state funding model does not cover these needed building expenses. These expenses are simply not funded by the state.

Vote yes on May 19th! The alternative is to let the needed building maintenance be pushed down the road. This never ends well and costs more long-term.

RYAN HEASTY

Athol