years ago, this community committed itself to improving conditions for Guilford County’s school children. The passage of a $200 million school bond began the work of addressing more than 20 years of neglect in our school facilities.

The results have been gratifying to see. The $200 million school bond paid for the construction of two new high schools, the replacement of two existing schools and expansion and renovation projects at 35 other schools throughout Guilford County. The projects were well-managed and came in on time and under budget.

But our work is not done.  Too many of our schools remain overcrowded and in poor condition. The $200 million bond was a good start, but it was only a start.

Now it is time to finish the job.

On November 4, Guilford County residents will vote on a $300 million bond issue that will allow us to complete the work that we began three years ago. We must pass the school bond to improve learning conditions for those children who still attend school in crowded and substandard facilities.

Before 2000, Guilford County had gone more than 10 years without building any schools and 20 years without building any elementary schools.  Not a single public school was built in Guilford County between 1979 and 1992. Yet the school system added thousands of students during that time. In recent years, growth has accelerated, particularly in the suburbs. Over 1,000 new students enter the system each year.


As a result, we still have too many children for the number of classrooms available, resulting in severe overcrowding at some schools. In addition, too many of our existing schools are in disrepair and are inadequate to serve the needs of the children of Guilford County.

In fact, over 7,000 children currently attend school in 450 trailers. And trailers don’t really solve the problem. They address only classroom space. Common areas such as libraries, hallways, bathrooms and cafeterias can’t accommodate all the students.

The 2003 school bond will pay for five new schools, five replacement schools, and expansion and improvement at 15 other campuses. It will pay for 8,479 new seats at four high schools, four middle schools and 13 elementary schools. The majority of the $300 million will add new schools and classrooms so our children will have a decent place to go to school.

The severe crowding is bad, but it is made worse because many of the schools are in disrepair. They need to be replaced.

In short, we are sending some of our children to schools we would never tolerate if we had to go there to work every day.  We cannot ignore the damage we do to our children’s education by not making construction funds available.

We tell our children that education is important. Yet we send them to school in buildings that are crowded and inadequate to meet their needs. We must pass this bond so that our children know that we value them and their education.

Several reasons argue for passing a bond referendum now, as opposed to later. First, the current need for new facilities is urgent and is getting worse every year. Delaying the bonds will only make things worse. Also, the cost of bonds are lower now than they will likely be for many years to come. Building these projects now will result in a lower cost than if we waited until some time in the future.

The public schools are a key institution in our community. It doesn’t matter whether or not we personally have a child in public school. We depend on the public schools to educate the vast majority of our young people in preparation for useful work and to teach them what they need to know to be productive citizens.

The greatest support that you can give is to go to the polls on November 4 and vote yes for the $300 million school bonds. Please vote yes for kids!