What makes it so tough now is the talk has went on for so long, nobody knows what to believe or who to believe.

Look at it this way, how many of us have gotten email forwards from good people, honest people, who thought or was made to believe that something was true.

Most people have heard too many 'reliable' sources now, and from both sides that nobody is really sure what it truth, what is lies, what is in between and there is a lot of apathy because the whole thing has dragged on so long.

It really is a tough and crappy situation, because nobody wants to be the bad guy, or risk just screwing up.

Something has to be done, but then you hear some of the members of the boards speaking, you can tell that some of them don't want to do anything or want someone else to make the decision for them. I have little doubt that most would love to put it to a public vote so they could wash their hands of it. Thankfully that doesn't happen, can you imagine the newspaper if that was to happen. Some of the folks who can't afford another dime to do to any new school, would have an unlimited budget to fill the paper with advertisements.

It's really sad. You watch meetings and hear something, and you can wait 10 minutes and hear someone totally saying something else, questioning them, giving their 'facts', and on and on it goes.

I guess I'm of the mind that if it could go to a public vote, and depending on if they really put facts out there and didn't let the 4-5 that show up at every meeting and almost quote each others comments as facts rule the land, people would actually go for it. It really depends on how much information can be provided and if they can counter the disinformation.

Is it best? Thats the magic question and unfortunately, nobody can guarantee that. The thing I think most people know is that logically it has to change. You can't justify the cost of 6 schools with the population you have. That's the bottom line. Now is putting everybody into 3 old ones, building 1, 2, 3 new ones or whatever the best option. Who knows, all that anybody who can look at it remotely objective can tell you is things can not stay the same. Yes the buildings themselves probably could have been made to last longer, and probably could still be made serviceable for a few more years, but the pure costs to operate 6 separate schools is too great now. They could have took better care of the buildings in the past, part of why they probably didn't was robbing Peter to pay Paul. They sacrificed building upkeep to keep buildings but now you're at a point where that isn't even feasible now.

There is, at least in my view, a general idea that they can make it work another year or maybe even 2. In some form, shape, way or manner, but if you don't prepare for the future at some point, it will show up and smack you upside the head. Those who work, especially you with benefits, do you have any money for retirement or do you just keep going and hope that it all works out and is fine? The system has basically done that, they haven't prepared, and now they can see whats coming at them and coming at them very quickly. Question is, figuring out how to prevent it from being a bigger disaster or culture shock that its gonna be.