Weigh transportation costs in decision

The public is being told that by closing two Cedar Rapids schools they will save about $1 million a year. Sounds good, but will it happen?

At the beginning of this process, you heard a lot about bringing buildings up to standard and the costs that would be involved. Now that Superintendent David Benson has now recommended closing Polk to displace the children thriving there and re-purpose the building, how much will those repairs cost?

Are the transportation costs accurate? If students from Polk get to choose from six schools as the plan given to the board states, would the district pay for those children to get to school? Because busing is costly to the district, are you sure there is still savings to make this worthwhile?

Polk has a 90 percent subsidized student population, this means the taxpayers have more at stake here than anywhere. Our money is hard at work! The facts are undeniable - the student achievement data for the last four years and the shrinking gap between all at-risk groups! While others in Iowa are making excuses, the Polk staff did it! Why on earth would the district want to ignore those figures?

Gary Scheufele

Cedar Rapids