To the editor:

If USD 497 board members don’t take Leonard Ortiz seriously, perhaps, the board members should be reminded that the voters were serious when they voted “no” on the bond issue.

In a response to my inquiry of the district regarding the estimates for window replacement at Lawrence High School, I quote from correspondence dated March 14: “After gathering input from staff, parents and community members, the board prioritized the facilities needs of the district and structured the current bond issue proposal. The estimates for the window replacement project at Lawrence High School, including all exterior glass and contingencies for architecture and engineering fees, are $985,000.”

The Journal-World dated Tuesday, Sept. 9, reported by Tim Carpenter, states: “A big winner was Lawrence High School, which is slated to receive $800,000 in improvements. LHS, 1901 La., will have money to install air conditioning in two gyms, replace all windows and repair exterior walls.”

Voters, your “no” vote saved over $185,000 in borrowed bond money plus interest and you got air conditioning and exterior wall repairs to boot!

Does the board even know what they discuss, and does the paper even report what is what?

This $800,000 is being spent from capital outlay funds the district already has. They didn’t need a bond issue. One has to wonder if they need a future bond issue and if so, how inflated is it to be?

They have big ideas. For starters, $21 million for a junior high? More on that later.

David Holroyd,

Lawrence