13 April 2016

Megabucks for more schools, Republican public safety plan

Are School District 5’s voters ready to approve a $61 million bond issue? We may find out this fall. A committee studying the situation has concluded that Kalispell needs two more elementary and one more middle school, plus repairs and renovations to existing facilities, and will urge the district’s trustees to put the question to the voters this fall (possibly in a special election; that’s not yet clear).

This will be a hard sell. The economy continues to improve, but to improve very slowly and unevenly, with considerable uncertainty for many people. Recipients of Social Security, who did not receive a cost of living allowance increase last year, and may not this year, may be reluctant to approve an increase in taxes. Others may wonder whether conducting school all year instead of leaving classrooms empty in the summer could reduce the need for new schools (later this spring, I’ll have more to say on year around school).

Republicans and public safety. When a political party starts talking about presenting a public safety plan to elected officials six months before an election, it’s fair to ask whether the real purpose of the plan is to generate a campaign issue that helps that party’s candidates.

In the Flathead, Rep. Frank Garner (R-Kalispell), head of security at the Flathead Regional Medical Center, and a former Kalispell police chief, is part of a local Republican group, the Pachyderm Club, that’s looking at public safety and ways of addressing public safety issues. They’re holding a public meeting on Thursday, 14 April, at the Red Lion Inn, in Kalispell, starting at 1800 MDT.

Citizens should insist that those arguing there’s a public safety problem provide proof that a problem exists, and proof that proposed solutions will make a real difference. Be wary of trust us statements of the “experts say there’s drug problem, so we need more constables, more jail cells, more drug counselors, more laws restricting the sale and use of opioids, and no more bleeding heart liberal judges” genre.