Re: Public land use

[Sue Brown <sbrown@wamedes.com>]

>Well, public parks to me are like public schools, not like private
schools.  I'd hate to think my kid had to pay an entry fee to walk in the
door of a public school & I don't see paying to walk in a public park.
Once you've paid the basic fee (taxes) to establish and maintain them, only
*extraordinary* use should be charged for.  Special events perhaps.  But to
pay to merely go in.... wow!  
>

What is actually paid for in the public school system is incredibly less
than it was when I was a kid.  As the years go by, the taxes we pay that
are earmarked for public schools cover less and less...and, since school
bond issues often have difficulty passing, I don't see that situation
improving a lot.  I see the same happening with the public park system.
John Q. Public has enough trouble anteing up more money for schools...I
seriously doubt that the masses who don't ever use the parks will approve
more taxes to cover the increase in expenses.  Like it or not, the users of
these systems (both the schools and the parks) have to pick up some of the
slack.  When I was a kid, the schools paid for everything...books, pencils,
notebooks, athletic equipment, and so on.  By the time my son was in
school, most of that part had already been shifted to the parents.  What we
need to do, as others have written, is to look at some of ways our tax
money is wasted and the amounts and bennies given active and retired
officials...not that changing this would redirect the money towards the
parks, but I would feel better about paying more for usage if my tax
contributions were being well utilized within the existing system.  In the
meantime, if *I* use the park system, I would rather pay a bit more right
now for usage in order to keep the parks open.  Doesn't seem quite fair,
but I learned a long time ago that not everything in life (especially when
it concerns the government) is fair. :-p   

Sue 

sbrown@wamedes.com
Tyee Farm
Marysville, Wa.