Our View: Dog track provides rare opportunity

These questions are valid but district residents should view the dog track opportunity from the long-term perspective. Fast-forward to a Hudson 50 to 75 years from now; what an ideal location for a school.

The potential purchase of the dog track came about through an amazing series of events — political flip-flops, the rise and fall of greyhound racing, the proliferation of Indian gaming, community opposition, economic downturns and an architectural assembly so unusual it has little secondary uses. Residents of the Hudson School District are being given a rare opportunity to take advantage of this unusual series of events to position our schools for continued excellence and opportunity for many years into the future.

The availability of the former track site for just $8.25 million is a stroke of good fortune all the way around. It is a no-brainer.

There are those who question whether Hudson needs a new school — at least in the near future — but we believe this community will continue to grow and prosper in the decades ahead. Nothing we have seen suggests anything different.

Hudson is blessed and always will be with, as they say in the real estate game, location-location-location. Like it or not and despite $4 a gallon gas prices, district enrollment will grow. There may be some peaks and valleys along the way, but the trend continues to keep going in one direction — up. Don’t let those kindergarten numbers fool you, the 2011 senior class of nearly 400 started as a kindergarten class of 262.

By purchasing the dog track, the school district will be positioned to address all future needs, be they short- or long-term.

The beauty of the referendum process, of course, is residents will have the final word. We’d encourage district residents to vote “yes” on the school property referendum question.

Tags: opinion, editorials, education