 |
Let’s say you operate a business that operates with three different trucks. They’re all getting worn out, spending way too much time in the shop, with more than 250,000 miles on two engines and well over 350,000 on the third. So it’s time to think about rebuilding or replacing them.
Rebuilding them doesn’t make financial sense since each truck has been rode hard for 40 years or more and has the scars to show for it. Plus, over the years your business’ needs have changed. So while some folks in your office would prefer to keep three trucks, or at least go with two, most think you could do just as good of a job – and maybe even a lot better – only using one really dependable truck with all the right options.
That means it’s time to go shopping for a new truck. While that’s an expensive proposition, it would come with a warranty and save thousands of dollars in repair bills every year.
What you really want is a Chevrolet Silverado. (And, no, John Fullerton did not pay me to say that.) You had one before, your daddy had one and it has everything you could possibly want in a truck. Sure, it’s not cheap – and some workers still prefer their old Dodge or Toyota – but in the long run it would likely prove to be well worth the cost.
However, the local Ford dealer hears about this and comes to you with the best offer imaginable: If you’ll buy a new F-150 instead to replace all three trucks, they’ll give you a coupon for up to 95 percent off. Would you still stick with the sentimental Chevy, or would you suddenly become a Ford fan?
(Note to readers: That wasn’t a real offer, as we’re talking in parable here, so please don’t call King Ford and demand they give you a coupon.)
This analogy came to mind while trying to understand why Cherokee County Board of Education members Keesha Curtis, James Ellis and Joe Wood – as well as County Commissioners Jan Griggs and Cal Stiles – would vote to not pursue a North Carolina grant of up to $50 million to fund construction of the new unified high school in Peachtree that both the school board and county commission approved last year.
Those elected officials voted against seeking the grant because they haven’t supported the project from the beginning, which is certainly their right. However, the votes on Jan. 13 and Feb. 7 were not about whether to support consolidation of the county’s three primary high schools. These votes were solely about whether to apply for a state grant to pay for the vast majority of expenses on an already approved project.
Making it worse, in an obvious attempt to tank the county’s effort, Griggs wanted a letter sent to the state along with the grant application pointing out that the unified school only passed the boards by 4-3 and 3-2 votes. That’s a whole lot of nothing, however, as the winning margin has no impact on the legal authority of any measure, and substantial changes rarely happen with unanimous approval because we live in a free country.
Elections have been decided by just one person at the ballot box. U.S. Supreme Court justices have received lifetime appointments by a single vote. All a close decision proves is that we all don’t think exactly alike, which to me is a very good thing indeed.
That letter sounds like the board’s minority trying to subvert the will of the majority, which is the exact opposite of what governing in a democracy is supposed to look like. Then again, if the county receives a large grant to fund most of the new school, that would take away one of the biggest reasons to oppose it on the campaign trail.
I understand why many people are against unifying the high schools; it’s a complex issue that affects communities, cultures and traditions before you start talking about the costs involved. However, even if you don’t support the new school as it’s proposed today, you should still want a state grant to pay for it instead of local taxpayers, who cannot afford to take on another unnecessary expense caused by poor decisions.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.