the will to pay

I got a message from my dad this morning. Yesterday the people of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, passed a school referendum. Community leaders have been trying for years; previous ballot measures have been voted down; the version that finally passed is far smaller in scope and effect than earlier measures. Why?

Why did voters reject the measures presented in previous years? Why didn't they pass a more potent or far-reaching referendum this year? All together now: "MONEY"

Schools cost money; they are expensive to build and to maintain. Materials cost money; they are expensive to purchase and to replace, yet they must be replaced and updated periodically. Teachers cost money; modest though teacher salaries are, when you start to look at them in the dozens or hundreds or thousands, it really adds up. Education costs money, and the sad fact is that few communities possess the collective will to pay what it costs to give local children a good education.

A retired couple doesn't want to pay more taxes; they don't have kids in school. A bachelor doesn't want to pay more taxes; he feels he's already paying too much. A working family doesn't want to pay more taxes; they're struggling as it is.

But that retired couple will need health care and other services from this generation of school kids, and they will certainly want their providers to be well educated. That bachelor may have kids of his own some day, and he'll want them to have the best chance at success. That family hopes their kids will have a more comfortable life than they've had.

And of course, the key to all these long term needs and hopes is education, which requires adequate funding in the short term. If we want to be well cared for as we age, if we want our descendants to have a better life than we've had, if we want our society and our civilization to continue to improve, we need to muster the will to pay for education now.