To the editor:

School Board President Scott Morgan commented (Journal-World, Feb. 16) that he didn’t necessarily want people to react strongly when he let them know that closing schools was an option in the current budgetary crisis. I’m sure that’s true. When the citizens let them know what they care about, it limits their options.

It’s no accident that Morgan and Mary Loveland were both on the school board in 2003 when Centennial, Riverside and East Heights elementary schools were closed. Why would anyone want to oppose further school closings? It’s good for the economy! When we close schools, people will quit moving in and fixing up those nice old houses with the big trees and yards. The area goes to renters, which makes money for the landlords and keeps the young families from getting inexpensive startup homes. If it’s near Kansas University, they will pack five or so students into a “single-family home” and the city will look the other way.

After a time as rental property, the houses will degenerate and eventually be cleared, which makes way for development. Development is the engine that drives that great infinite expansion into the future that knows no bounds. If we clear away those old neighborhoods, we can have development even if the population doesn’t grow. So there are lots of good reasons for closing schools.

Why would we want to turn off those bright lights that stay on all night in the south LHS parking lots? That, too, drives the economy, and lights up the corpse of Centennial School.