To the editor:

The question is why did the $41 million bond fail. To me, the answer is clear. The taxpayers are tired of wasteful and irresponsible spending. It is that simple. We don’t need a new bus barn. We didn’t need the buses. We don’t need free day-care in the form of free preschool. People that choose to have children need to be responsible for the care and maintenance of their children. They want to have them but they want the taxpayers to pay for them.

Instead of spending thousand of dollars on special elections, that money could be used to pay for security improvements needed for the safety of the kids. Instead of the needless purchases of new vehicles, the money could be spent on needed security improvements. But the only way that they can convince you to give them more money is to spend what they have then say we need more to protect the kids. They use the kids as pawns to convince you to give them more money to waste.

It is not about needs. It is about wants. We certainly don’t need more gym space. That has no meaningful educational value. These are wants that should be addressed with money after the basic needs have been met. Not with additional tax burdens on property owners. In the real world a budget means that you first pay the needs then if there is anything left you can have the wants. In their world they have their wants then tax the citizens more to get the needs. 

I think that the message was very clear in the last election. Stop the waste and get back to responsible budgeting.

Bernard Levings

Great Bend