As the parents of three children who attended Brooks Elementary, we are appalled at the Fayette County School Board's nerve to ask us the taxpayers for additional monies to build additional facilities in this county.

They talk about needing gymnasiums, athletic facilities and classrooms. They recruit a group of parents to give them a report of equality.

Equality? Has anyone other than us looked at the Iowa scores for Fayette County elementary schools? Does anyone else see that some schools are teaching our children to read and excel in math and social studies while others are not?

As we have all read in your paper in recent weeks, Iowa scores were terrific at some schools and pathetic at others. The school board wants more money, and yet they have not once mentioned needing money to improve academics! They ought to be ashamed and embarrassed to even suggest that we as taxpayers would give them another dime, until we see some improvement in academic scores. What a sad state of affairs to live in a county where we are more worried about athletic facilities than academics.

Perhaps we had better build bigger and better athletic facilities, because the children of Fayette County are going to have to rely on athletic scholarships rather than academic scholarships to get into college. As for equality, if you are lucky enough to live in an area of this county where your children are getting a good education, stay there! There is no equality and there is no consistency from one elementary school to the next in Fayette County.

As for us, we are opting out, we are taking our three precious children with their bright little minds and we are home-schooling them. We realize that we will still be paying taxes to support the local schools even though our children will not be attending, but at least we will not be fiddling while watching Rome burn.

We have spent the better part of seven years trying to work within the “system” and make changes to improve the academic performance at our school, and it has all fallen on deaf ears. By removing our children, we will not have to continue to be frustrated by the entire exercise in futility.

The education of our children is not something to be taken lightly, when you consider that, in order for them to compete tomorrow, they have to learn today. The Fayette County School Board thinks that the taxpayers of Fayette County will hand over additional funds because it is for “our children.” But the big question is... will we?

Patrick and Marilyn Hall
Fayetteville

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