The Payson Roundup / Votes against school override; YMCA we an aberration

Archive for Tuesday, November 18, 2008

November 18, 2008

Editor:

Unfortunately, Payson is starting to resemble Prescott via voting against school override elections, voiding plans for recreational opportunities for its citizens and cutting off its nose to spite its face with shortsightedness and stinginess.

The votes against the school override and the YMCA were an aberration and cast our town as being anti-youth and against progress. It’s wonderful that we support an annual rodeo and a winning high school football program, but we failed in our efforts to provide meaningful and reasonable educational and recreational opportunities for our young people. How will the Payson Unified School District recruit and/or retain competent teachers when prospective and current employees know there will be possible layoffs or salary reductions?

Maybe the argument between Prescott and Payson won’t be over which town hosts the world’s oldest continuous rodeo, but rather which town values its youth the least.

Richard K. Meszar