ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 16, 1996 TAG: 9603190011
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MURIEL KELLEY
IT'S TIME to issue a challenge to the citizens of Roanoke County. Can you answer the following questions honestly?
Why are you really going to vote no on the April 2 bond-issue referendum? Are you angry about the seemingly arbitrary and unfair assessment of your property? Do you sometimes feel frustrated that nobody really cares about you and your tax burden?
Have you wished for some way you could "show those people" that they can't continue to do this to you year after year? Do you feel that you finally have a chance to "get back at them'' - show them what it's like to be frustrated by voting down their proposed bond issue?
But be honest with yourself. Is it really going to hurt these bureaucrats? Who does it really hurt? If you're honest, you'll have to answer: "Nobody but the children.''
Would you be willing to go to work on April 3 and turn off your air conditioner until June 13? Would you work under these conditions without complaining or using that as an excuse for your poor productivity? Have you said to yourself that you never had air conditioning when you went to school, and you did just fine? Be honest! Did you grow up in an era when nobody had air conditioning at work, school or home? Admit that just maybe you'd have felt differently if you went to the only secondary school that wasn't air-conditioned.
Have you actually visited schools that claim to be overcrowded and enduring unacceptable conditions? Perhaps if you can answer these next questions, you won't need to actually visit these facilities.
Would you willingly go to work everyday knowing that you would spend 35 minutes of that day being hit with heavy objects (book bags, musical-instrument cases, etc.), being yelled at by somebody bigger or meaner than you to "move it" (only they usually aren't that polite about it)?
Would you be upset if you had to stay after work an extra hour each day because you reported to your work station a minute late? You were late because you couldn't maneuver through all the people fast enough to get there on time. Perhaps you could solve the problem by carrying all your paraphernalia around with you on your back. That way, you'd never have to go back to your storage area (locker). But, alas, then you'd end up being one of those who keeps bumping into people with your 20-pound (or heavier) book bag.
Let's move out of this realm of make-believe, keeping in mind that it is, in fact, reality for 2,000 Roanoke County students 200 days of the year.
My final, challenging questions may be the toughest to answer honestly: Do you think those Southwest County residents need to be shown that they're no better than the rest of the county? Would you like to see those "rich people" find out what it's like not to get everything they want? Did you realize that some of the poorest people in the county happen to live in Southwest County?
Answering the next questions may prove even tougher and make you feel uncomfortable. Did Southwest County raise a furor when the new William Byrd Middle School was built in Vinton? Did Southwest County residents get anything out of that expenditure? Did they cry "no fair" when Northside Middle School was built or when plans for a new gymnasium wing were unveiled? Were they up in arms when it was announced that a new wing would be added to Glenvar High School so the county could implement the middle-school concept? Or did they calmly sit back, year after year, not complaining, thinking surely they'd be next? Thinking that, surely, the fastest-growing segment of Roanoke County would receive some kind of relief. Patiently, they waited, even though their children didn't have the facilities or access to the educational opportunities of the rest of the county.
Finally, it's Southwest County's turn! If you have your way, will residents there have to keep on waiting?
One more question: Do you feel good about your decision to vote no on April 2? I can honestly say that I don't know how you can!
Muriel Kelley of Roanoke is a teacher at Cave Spring Junior High School.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB