In Laura Wishik’s letter to the editor she mentions that glass is falling out of the windows at McMurray Middle School and that very few needed repairs at the school were being considered in the next bond proposal. Repairs do not belong in a bond, they belong in a levy. Bonds come with interest payments, which basically double the cost of each repair when paid over 20 years.

I believe maintenance is a problem at the school and the district’s priorities are bewildering to me. We have had the windows at McMurray falling out for a few years, yet rather than start reglazing them or replacing the worst ones, this year we are projected to spend $22,000 on water bottle filling stations, $10,000 to improve the sound system and acoustics in the Chautauqua gym and $35,000 to install a batting cage at the high school. This $67,000 is more than half the annual levy money actually allotted to maintenance each year. None of these items are for preventative maintenance. Our spending priority should be to protect and increase the life of our buildings.

We have a preventative maintenance problem at the school. Just look under the grandstand as an example. There has been a tree growing for years, which is now over 10 feet tall. The ground is covered in blackberries. This is an area where sports equipment is kept. It would be easy to completely weed this underbrush and put down filter fabric and gravel. Was this not done because the school was hoping to replace the grandstands? Or is the problem not seen by the staff?

We have increased maintenance staff since building the new high school and still the staff does not seem to stay on top of maintenance. I no longer have confidence in the school’s maintenance program.

— Hilary Emmer