To the editor:

Well again the school district wants to talk about a bond for money to waste on their extravagant wants. And once again I say live within your means. The taxpayers cannot just float a bond to pay their taxes when they come due. They have to decide whether they will pay their taxes, pay for medication that they need to stay alive, pay for heat and AC, and everyday expenses. Or they lose their property to tax sale. It is time that the school district lives on the same rule book that the citizens have to. 

Last week I was talking to some people that are selling their home and moving out of Great Bend because of the wasteful tax burden. They are good people, people that are a credit to any community, people that will be a great loss to Great Bend and Barton County. It makes me very sad to see them go.

It is very hard to see our town grow when property owners are taxed like this while our streets are a disgrace. Streets that are crumbling beneath our feet as we speak. If I were a potential business wanting to locate here, after I drove down the streets I would think twice about the city’s priorities. Great Bend is a great city, a good place to live, with a lot of great people. Let us figure out how to keep these good people instead of taxing them to death. I have no intention of leaving Great Bend but I also have no intentions of burying my head in the sand, letting these extravagant spenders destroy what we have. 

Come on taxpayers, stand up and be counted. Stand up and say enough. Say learn to live within your means like the rest of us. Say no more taxes. Spend more money on salaries on qualified teachers and less on the big spenders that have only their wants in mind — like fancy vehicles that are not needed.

Bernard Levings

Great Bend