We need cost-effective school facilities

To the Editor,

     We have been involved with the Great Jones County Fair for over 30 years and believe that it is the best five days of summer! As the fair has grown, so has the number of people who visit Monticello every summer.

     We, as a community, do an incredible job of hosting guests and our guests like it here. However, we all live in this community the other 360 days and want it to be the best that it can be.

     Strong, viable schools are one of the main reasons that people are driven to a community and the incredible people, like we have in Monticello, are the reason they stay.

     We know the Monticello schools well; Kathy was a teacher in the district for 35 years and our family has five generations of graduates and have all attended school in the now-middle school. The building was old then and is beyond repair now. We need to make our facilities more consolidated and cost efficient.

     We support the fiscally responsible plan in place for a new middle school. Join us in voting yes on Sept. 11.

John and Kathy Harms

Monticello, Iowa