New school or not, Hayes Center ready to move forward

Every qualified voter in Hayes Center school district should go to the polls Tuesday to cast votes on the district's $2.8 million school bond issue.

The turnout is important because total participation is needed to determine what future course is preferred for the district which covers the large majority of Hayes County.

In previous elections, the district's voters have been almost evenly divided, with a $2 million issue in March of 2004 defeated by just three votes. The balloting showed the sharp differences of opinion within the district, which is made up of honest, hard-working people who stand up for what they believe.

Usually, that is a good thing. It becomes a problem only when half of the people are on one side of an issue, and half are on the other.

The division is shown by this week's Hayes Center Times-Republican. Large advertisements speak out on both sides of the issue. Those in favor see passage of the bond issue as an investment in the future of Hayes County, providing a quality school which will promote growth and continue to keep the community strong. Those against say that Hayes County's student numbers will decline after 2006-07, and declare that there is no guarantee the school district will continue to exist in the future.

During the debate, one idea emerged which has the potential to bring students to Hayes Center from other areas. That idea is the "Ag Magnet School." The plan is to develop an agricultural program at Hayes Center which could attract young people who have a strong interest in farming and ranching fields. Such a program already exists in Mead, Neb., and -- after traveling to Mead to see the program in action -- school board members believe the ag magnet approach has potential for Hayes Center.

After reading the ads in this week's Hayes Center paper, and looking through the Letters to the Editor in last week's issue of the Times-Republican, there's no question about one thing. The people of Hayes County are sincere. They don't beat around the bush. They have definite opinions, and they are not afraid to express them.

That's the American way. Now comes the hard part for voters in the Hayes Center school district: casting ballots in the privacy of the voting booth, and then going back to daily life -- and facing the future together -- once the result is known.