Letter: Vote yes for Iowa City school bond

As a parent of children who passed through Lucas, SE Junior High and City High, I am astounded our community is debating the necessity for the Sept. 12 bond vote. Have opponents set foot in our schools? We have handicapped inaccessible buildings, 27 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. We have brick oven schools without air conditioning, where walking down a hallway breaks a sweat even when outdoor temperatures are below 80.

This is not the community we chose to move to 20 years ago, largely because we believed the ICCSD had a commitment to outstanding education for all. Sadly, I am not sure I would repeat that choice today.

The U.S. Secretary of Education is supporting private schools and gutting public funding, while refusing to denounce discrimination against LGBTQ youth. Our state legislature repeatedly under-prioritizes and underfunds education, and recently stripped teacher bargaining rights. Yet, our community is fighting about investing in equitable education for all?

Regardless of claims from the 'vote no” crowd, this is not a referendum on the superintendent or school board. Neither entity will lose anything if the bond fails. The same is not true for our students, too many of whom attend school in cramped rooms with 30+ children, in un-air conditioned spaces; others are placed in temporary buildings for consecutive years, until they're permanent fixtures of the school. Vote yes Sept. 12. Then please fight against inequity in our state and national education policies. All of our kids deserve better.

Dawn Willging

Iowa City

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