Letter- Vote ‘yes’ for track

Dear Editor,

Our family moved to Hudson 10 years ago. One of the main factors that drew us here was the quality of the schools. We currently have a student in 10th grade at the high school and another in seventh grade at the middle school. In all the time we have been here, I have never been disappointed with the schools they have attended or in the teachers they have had.

The only issue I have had, has been with the overcrowding at both the middle and high school. The middle school is already 169 students over capacity and with six elementary schools feeding into it, the increase in numbers will only get worse. The high school is already so overcrowded that students can’t move through the halls between classes. I don’t think that there is much doubt by anyone who cares about education in our community, that we are in need of a new school.

With that in mind I believe that purchasing the property of the old dog track is our best option. The value of the property was recently appraised at $16.8 million. The district has a purchase agreement for $8.25 million. That is half of its assessed value!

This site has 126 acres, which will be sufficient for athletic fields and will provide great flexibility for future expansion as the need arises. It has a 90,000-square-foot main building that can be reused for a school building. It already has the infrastructure needed for a future school ie. city water and sewer, curbing, asphalt parking lot and access ramps. A conservative estimate of the value for this existing infrastructure is between $5 and $7.5 million. This all makes the dog track property a remarkable investment for our school district and our community.

The need is now and we are not going to see a better deal than this property. There is no question that strong schools equal a strong and vibrant community. I encourage everyone with a strong commitment to our community to go to the polls on April 3 and vote “yes” for this purchase.

Tags: opinion, letters, education