To the editor:

Support of Sidney City School levy

We would like to encourage all voters living in the Sidney School District to support the 3.0 mill Permanent Improvement Levy on election day, Nov. 8, 2016. The word PERMANENT is misleading. It’s really a five-year levy for maintaining current facilities and equipment. The cost on a $100,000 home would cost the homeowner $105 per year.

We are both graduates of Sidney High School in the 1960s. When we started elementary school at Whittier and Emerson, they were brand new schools. When we got to the high school, it was only a few years old. Our class members talk about the NEW high school (the one on Campbell Road). The old high school was down town on the hill above what is now Julia Lamb Park. The first class to attend and graduate from that NEW high school was the class of 1961. The class of 1960 actually was the first class to graduate from the NEW high school, but they never attended the NEW high school.

We still to this day talk about the NEW high school, but that school building isn’t really new, but 56 years old. The grade schools are 66 years old. These buildings have served the district well for many years, but as all old buildings go, they are in need of repairs and upgrades. As the saying goes, pay me now or pay me later. When your own home needs repairs, you can only put it off so long or other bad things happen that cost even more. These buildings have been put off long enough.

When we were in school, our parents, grandparents, and many in the community supported our schools and all of the kids attending those schools. We think it’s about time we support our schools and make them the best possible environment for the current students of Sidney City Schools.

Here’s the link to the website for all of the details: https://sidneyschoolslevy.org/

We believe that it’s time to pay it forward.

Mark and Joyce Deam

Sidney