Two mills is two mills. The Lawrence school board’s Monday decision to hold the district’s capital outlay levy to 6 mills instead of raising it to the maximum allowable 8 mills represents at least a small recognition that local taxpayers also are struggling with the effects of the current tight economy.

“Holding it at 6 makes a statement,” said board President Scott Morgan, who was part of the 4-3 majority that voted in favor of the lower levy. “We’ll have to cut. We’ll have to slow down.”

This is a bit of a touchy topic with many district patrons who think the district should have considered slowing down before it undertook the construction of new athletic fields at the two Lawrence high schools. That money, they say, could have been better used to address other district needs.

That’s not exactly true, because the lion’s share of the money dedicated to the fields was left over from the 2005 bond issue approved by voters specifically for capital improvements at the district’s secondary schools. It couldn’t have been used, for instance, to raise teacher salaries or provide more bus transportation. Nonetheless, the fact that $2.4 million left over from the bond issue was directed to the athletic fields may make many district patrons less sympathetic if the district now finds it necessary to tighten its belt on other capital projects.

On Monday, the board also reviewed a list of capital improvement projects awaiting the district’s attention. At least a couple of items on top of the priority list involved improvements at district secondary schools. If the district had used leftover bond money for those projects instead of the athletic fields, would more money be left to address elementary school needs? Some district patrons — not to mention elementary school principals — may wonder.

Lawrence residents are extremely supportive of their high school athletic teams, but they also understand the need to properly maintain school facilities not related to athletics. Local taxpayers should be grateful that the school board has chosen not to levy the maximum tax for capital improvements. We can only hope the remaining money will be used wisely.