To the editor:

The upcoming school bond issues for facilities and technology deserve our support. As a small business owner, I am generally cautious about increasing expenses, but there are cases where the benefits are worth the expense, and I believe this is one of those cases.

I am a strong believer in the benefits of providing the highest quality education for our children, both as a parent and as a business owner. Excellence in education provides benefits to our community on many levels ranging from equipping our kids for success to enabling businesses in the community to hire and retain the skilled workforce necessary to compete in a global economy. In fact, a high quality school system is one of the best economic development tools there is.

In business, there are times when it is necessary to invest in your operation in order to keep things successful. The same is true for our schools. The facilities improvements to our junior and senior highs solve real problems and will only be more expensive later if we don’t solve the problems now. The technology improvements will benefit students, teachers and parents alike and will help Lawrence better compete with other nearby districts for teacher talent.

Good schools are good for business and good for our community. I hope you will join me and vote yes for both bond issues on April 5.

Bennett Griffin,

Lawrence