Athletic Supporters to Discuss New Gym with Public

The group advocating a 5.83 million dollar bond issue to build a new gym for high school sports in Madison is holding a public forum tonight at 7:00 p.m. in the middle school gym. Last week's blizzard pushed the State Debate Tournament to today, so I'll be in Yankton coaching instead of coming to participate in local democracy. I offer the following list of questions in the hope that some of my loyal readers might bring them up at the public forum and get back to me with some answers. Before we as a school district go another six million dollars in debt, I'd like to get some answers to the following questions:

1. Why are we considering spending 5.83 million dollars on a new gym when the school board is trying to save 30-40 thousand dollars by cutting a music instructor?
2. Is there any chance we could lower the debt burden on taxpayers by charging a user fee through ticket prices?
3. Why have the supporters of this project chosen public funding as their first option rather than private fundraising?
4. Given its economic development justification, can this project win funding from the Lake Area Improvement Corporation or the Forward Madison initiative?
5. Does the 5.83 million dollars include covering the maintenance costs of the building over the next 25 years?
6. Will increased attendance at sporting event generate sufficient revenue to pay for the building's upkeep?
7. Will the school district have to make further cuts in staff and programs for students to cover the increased costs of heating, cleaning, and maintaining this new building?
8. Has anyone compared the economic impact of building this new gym with the potential impact of other possible district uses of this money, such as increased teacher salaries (better recruitment and retention of teachers?), increased staff levels (more permanent residents in the community?), or increased classroom space (more construction jobs, plus educational benefits for kids?)?
9. Will the project money go to local contractors or out-of-town builders? In other words, how much of the project money will be sunk directly back into the local economy?

I'll be watching my e-mail and the local press for answers to those questions.