If you fell

into the first category, shame on you! This is a

community. To be part of the community it is your duty to

support local issues, and education is first and

foremost. If your kids don't use public schools, that is

a choice, your choice. It doesn't relieve your

responsibility to the community. If your kids have

already left the system, how dare you fail to support

those who follow! Who do you think paid for your kids?

You too are part of the community and you still need to

participate.

And that

also goes for the seniors. Someone paid for your

children, and someone will pay for your grandchildren.

You expect us to continue to support you with Social

Security, Medicare, and senior centers, but you suddenly

feel exempt from your community responsibility.

The bottom

line is that we as a nation have been complaining for

years about the quality of education, and some of you

have complained the loudest. Now when you are asked to

help improve the local education system, you grab your

wallets and run home. You should be ashamed. If nothing

else you just gave up your right to complain.

And what's

up with Mr. Avrit and the anti-growth group? According to

the newspaper this guy spent his hard-earned cash to wage

an anti-SPLOST telephone campaign. The call I got was so

filled with lies that I am embarrassed that he was

identified as a fellow pilot. It is one thing to oppose

something, but, assuming the call I got was the one he

paid for, it is morally and ethically wrong to fill the

airwaves with outright lies in order to secure defeat.

And will

this stop growth? Of course not. If you think so, then

you are either naive or just plain stupid. The only way

it will stop growth is by destroying the schools and

deteriorating the quality of life, the very reasons we

all moved here! Will you still want to live here? And

what will be the value of that nice big house you built?

There are

valid ways to control growth, most of which I

wholeheartedly support. But hurting the school system is

not one of them. This convoluted theory would be like

controlling immigration by turning the U.S. into a third

world nation so people won't want to come here. What a

great idea!

But the

real evil in this is the apathy. Seventy-eight percent

chose not to vote. And I bet they will be among the

biggest complainers when overcrowding really kicks in.

Well, it is

embarrassing. This county, one of the richest in the

state, has shown that we talk big but when it comes to

putting our money where our mouth is, we are the biggest

cheapskates in the state. It's a pretty sad statement

about our community, but, what the heck, my kids

graduated from the number one school system in the state

and are in the college of their choice. Hope you will be

able to say the same.

Oh, one

other thing, for all of you who constantly berate our

school board, can we expect to see your name on the next

ballot? For that matter, can we even expect to see you

attend a school board meeting? I didn't think so.

Jim

Stinson

Peachtree City

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