To the editor:

I want to thank USD 497 Operations and Facility Planning Director Tom Bracciano for all the hard work he has put into making use of the extraordinary windfall in facilities improvement monies earned from the South Junior High project. It was through his efforts that the district benefited from having the contractor not only meet the high standards for remodeling both SJHS and Broken Arrow, but also to do this under cost.

It is to his credit that the long-overdue and much-needed field facilities for Lawrence High School can finally (finally!!) be addressed, not only to the benefit of the fragile single-family neighborhoods nearby, but also to the seven property owners whose homes are directly adjacent to under-utilized LHS fields.

As one of the founding members of the Centennial Neighborhood Association, and someone who lives close by LHS, I applaud and cheer the improvements that have been 12 years in the making and will allow this central-city high school and all of the feeder schools nearby to not only survive, but to flourish for many decades to come.

Thank you, Mr. Bracciano, and to the school board members who have supported him.

Deborah Snyder,
Lawrence