Can’t yet trust Beaufort County school spending | Letters

We are being asked to support a one-third-of-a-billion-dollar bond referendum – a half-billion dollars or more at maturity.

I have lived in Beaufort long enough to remember millions of dollars spent to repair government buildings that were falling apart soon after construction. They somehow passed all code inspections. Millions were needed to keep the waterfront park from sinking, crumbling, and flooding.

Vast amounts have been spent by local government to invest in a commercial business park and other ventures best left to the private sector.

Millions have already been spent on our schools that we are now being told are unsafe, overcrowded, or don’t have sufficient athletic facilities, etc.

The FBI is supposedly looking into previous school construction cost overruns.

I also remember when the residential and commercial construction boom started 25 years ago. We were told that schools, roads, and other infrastructure required to support tens of thousands more residents and tourists would be covered by the huge increase in the tax base. How is that working out?

One could argue that I am comparing apples to oranges in my examples of wasteful or inefficient spending. However, until I am confident that such a huge amount of taxpayer money will be spent wisely, with proper oversight to ensure we get what we pay for, and support existing schools with well-planned preventive maintenance, I will vote “no.”

Be confident to vote ‘yes’ for school bond referendum

The only bond referendum I’ve voted for in the past was for Rural and Critical Lands.

I believe developers create the need for more schools, as well as impact on traffic, roads and infrastructure. Therefore, I believe their impact fees should cover the bulk of these expenditures.

The big issue on the Nov. 5 school bond referendum is security and safety. That is a community responsibility. These two referendum questions are the result of community volunteers who toured our county schools, and others. Their districtwide project-needs list was prioritized by our school board, with many new members.

Further, the district will develop a broad-based committee to monitor these expenditures, submitting regular reports posted to the their website (beaufortschools.net).

My biggest reservation was tearing down Robert Smalls International Academy and building a new school nearby. After going to an informational meeting, and touring the school, I came to understand and agree. Concrete shelves cause window frames to sag, creating leaks. Outside the windows, eroded concrete has fallen, exposing rebar. Areas including pillars are decaying from the inside out. Handicapped ramps inside and out are not wide enough for wheelchairs. There is no HVAC in hallways or weight room, and the gym air-conditioning breaks down regularly. The gym floor has a mercury problem. The PA cannot be heard in the cafeteria or outdoors. The school has inadequate parking, and no lighting at athletic fields. It wasn’t built for today’s technology, and on and on. It is the result of poor planning.

I am confidant in better planning and oversight. Vote “yes.”

Thoughts on SC public school funding

The following questions and thoughts might be of interest to your readers on the Opinion page ...

With regard to the support/endorsement of the Beaufort County school bond referendum, there are several thoughts that I believe would be of interest to your audience:

1. Where in the scheme of things do the monies promised/anticipated from the lottery proceeds fit in the school funding process? I have not seen any accounting of the lottery finances and the use of any distributions. I believed (maybe erroneously) that those funds would be significant and would be devoted exclusively to education infrastructure. Maybe some insight would be of interest to us all.

2. Are there not other funds received annually for non-operating expenses … such as a portion of our property taxes? How are these reflected in the funding for the infrastructure needs?

3. I saw in the endorsement by the League of Women Voters that the $350 million for Beaufort County was in line with what other counties were obtaining and it made me wonder what the total infrastructure expenditures are for the entire state. Adding all that up looks to me to be a huge number … certainly in the billions. Any thoughts on this?

Tell the rest of the story of Republicans and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Recently, a reader wrote a letter to the editor entitled “Record shows GOP not racist.” The purpose of this letter is to refute that letter.

When the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, as the writer noted, it passed by a vote of 153 Democratic and 136 Republican yeas in the House, with 91 Democratic and 35 Republican nays.

In the Senate, as the writer pointed out, it was 69% Democrats and 82% Republicans yea, and 31% Democrats and 18% Republicans nay.

I was shocked, shocked, that the writer did not also remind us that in 1964 almost all Southern conservative Democrats (which were almost all Southern Democrats) were really Republican conservatives who had not yet come out of the closest. Lyndon Johnson said the Civil Rights Act would force them to show their true color (deep red), and they quickly defected.

Anyone who neglects openly to state that many Southern Democrats were racist in 1964 apparently also believes that many Republicans in 2019 are not racist. Figures don’t lie, but …

Learn more about the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office

BCSO CPA – how many readers know what this means?

Some will, I know, because about 30 residents of Beaufort County just completed the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Citizens’ Police Academy. This is a seven- to eight-week course, free of charge, to educate residents about the workings of the Sheriff’s Office.

Longtime Sheriff P.J. Tanner has continued and improved a program begun before he became sheriff. Learning the history and workings of the oldest sheriff’s office in South Carolina (and with none older in the entire country although there are some as old) has been an enlightening experience for me, and I am sure it would be for many others.

We heard presentations from deputies in many areas of expertise, from domestic abuse to crime-scene investigations to forensics and DNA, and all were superb. These men and women are dedicated to their positions; many have been with department for many years and it is quite obvious that they respect Tanner as both a person and as the sheriff. It ain’t always nice out there, folks, and these deputies all had a sense of humor – some drier than others, but it was still there.

I was blown away by their dedication and I now volunteer at the Hilton Head office.

I encourage others to sign up for this class and learn more about our friends of protection.

Go to bcso.net/cpa, click on CPA Application and get ready for two months of enjoyable learning.

Wonder where the country’s headed

I wonder:

How many Republicans in South Carolina are called human scum by President Donald Trump.

Where Trump gets the nerve to call anyone a coward when he dodged the Vietnam draft by paying a doctor to claim he had bone spurs.

Whose flag he was hugging when the dodged the draft.

How many more lies it will take for Trump supporters to conclude that he is a pathological liar.

Why anyone believes anything Trump says when he lies about everything.

How Trump, Reps. Jim Jordan and Sean Duffy, and the Fox News talking heads have the audacity to question Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s patriotism and loyalty when they have not served their country.

Why Trump also questioned John McCain’s service. Does he have a problem with military veterans since he refused to serve?

Why we send troops to protect oil fields but not to protect the Kurds who fought with us.

Why we turn our backs on our allies and kiss up to our enemies.

Why U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2016 called Trump “a kook and not fit to lead” and now is a staunch supporter. Does Trump have something on Graham?

Why Graham ignored his good friend, John McCain’s warning to stay away from Trump.

Where our country is headed.

This story was originally published November 2, 2019 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Can’t yet trust Beaufort County school spending | Letters."