Proposed middle school changes sours resident on upcoming bond vote

I will be voting no for the new school bond issue. I believe it is being rushed to the voters without adequate detail or public input. My concern is the fate of our six neighborhood middle schools. The plan to build a 1,200-student school on the edge of northeast Cedar Rapids shows the ultimate goal of this school board to get rid of our current neighborhood ones and funnel all middle schoolers to huge schools. This will force kids who would have gone to a nearby school to endure long bus rides to the outskirts of town miles away from their homes and neighborhoods.

Schools are more than buildings. They are neighborhood anchors that provide a number of after school programs that enrich kids and engage nearby families. With their school miles away, many of these kids will be unable to participate in after school programs and sports. The need for a parent to have a car, the cost of gas and the hours-long drives to and from these schools will prevent many kids from participating in additional after school programs. There will also be parents unlikely to become engaged in a school so far away.

While the school board may want to showcase big flashy middle schools way far out where land is plentiful, this is a poor idea for many young vulnerable kids and their parents in our city's core who will not be able to make a connection to a school so far away.

Barbara Hannon

Cedar Rapids