Milestone: It worked this time; let's not delay again

There was good news in Wayne County this week -- two new middle schools are almost ready for the finishing touches that will allow them to open this fall.

And even though there was a lot of pomp and circumstances and congratulations being thrown around Wednesday, we need to remember how we got here.

And then we need to do it again.

It took years for the county commissioners and the board of education to come up with a workable facilities plan -- and then a few more years to settle on funding, priorities and a timetable.

And before that, there had been several false starts, slowdowns and nasty exchanges, not to mention what seemed like an ever-evolving game plan.

But that all changed recently. Both boards set aside the preconceived notions of the past -- and perhaps the politics -- and decided to come up with a plan that would best serve the interests of both the county's students and its taxpayers.

And voila! We have several new schools.

Funny how that happened.

The bottom line is this: This county needs new schools, but we are not rich enough to simply go out and start a passel of new construction projects simultaneously. We have to plan.

And the reality is that we need to have great school facilities and great schools if we are going to continue to grow economically over the next decade.

So, we have to invest.

Figuring out how to pay for all this, and to keep the county's taxpayers from bearing the brunt of the costs, is no easy task.

Wayne County should be celebrating the fact that by working together -- and not at cross-purposes -- the county commissioners and the board of education have made sure that some of the county's student body will return to school in brand-new and much-needed buildings, and county taxpayers will not be groaning under the expense.

Now, all we have to do is come up with more plans to replace and to improve more schools -- and to figure out a way to make sure that investment is reasonable and cost-effective.

This is exactly the kind of leadership this county needs right now. And those two new schools are shining examples of why it works -- and why we should do more of it.

Published in Editorials on May 21, 2015 11:00 AM