The Bond Issue. Safety

As folks who read this blog (and there's darned few I know) are aware, I've written on several occasions about the upcoming Natrona County School District bond issue, taking the specific topics of the swimming pools and technical and vocational training up.  The School District plan to address these topics is so well formed that I think that either one of them would merit the bond being passed in and of itself. The third topic of the funding, which I haven't addressed yet, certainly does, school safety.

This is a topic that's need is so self evident I would argue that no rational person can, after considering it, argue against it. Basically, the District proposes to add features to the existing grade schools to enhance their safety, through new entry ways, lighting and technical additions.

I will not dwell on the current age and why the District would rightfully consider such improvements desirable. Rather, I will point out something that people too often miss.  As technology improves, and as experience teaches, if we can improve something within our reasonable ability to do so, we ought to.  We particularly should do so where children are involved.

To give an example that is probably fairly obvious, consider the automobile of 1913.  Not too safe, right?  Mechanical brakes, no air bags, no seat belts, no safety of any kind really.  We could make cars like that today. We don't.  We don't, because we know how not to, and therefore we make them safer. 

Buildings aren't automobiles, they're more permanent.  But here too we retrofit builds that are old with sprinkler systems and fire alarms, and remove the asbestos from them with reconstruction calls for it.  When we can make buildings reasonably safer, we can, and should.

The State of Wyoming funds new school construction, thanks to the funds that the mineral industry pays through severance taxes.  But it doesn't pay for "enhancements".  Before we complain of that, we should consider that around here "local control" of schools is a big deal. Well, here's an area that we control, and as those in control, we can and should act responsibly.