When students at Bradley Central High and at Cleveland High return for the 2012 school year, they will have access to new classrooms and other spaces. The facilities - a Fine Arts Center for Bradley Central and a science wing for Cleveland - are the product of careful planning by the school boards and the direct, positive involvement of city and county taxpayers. The result: Buildings that should enhance the educational process for years to come.
The Bradley Central Fine Arts Center, built at a cost of $3.6 million, includes a 600-seat auditorium, music classrooms and much-needed storage space. The Max R. Carroll Science wing at Cleveland High School, an $8 million project, includes five biology, three chemistry and two physics classrooms. In a community with a growing commitment to the arts and one that is increasingly successful in attracting high-tech industry and business, both buildings are welcome.
Both school boards got a lot of bang for their construction bucks. Each bided its time, honing plans until it was possible to obtain attractive bids from contractors who needed the work during the recent economic slowdown. The savings, board officials report, were considerable.
Funding for the projects came from a mix of board funds and state appropriations and proceeds from increases in city and county sales taxes. The latter is especially notable.
The tax increases were approved by voters. That approval sends a powerful message. It signals that education and the infrastructure that supports it are highly valued in Cleveland and Bradley County - and that paying for both is a shared responsibility. That spirit and financial support are commendable.
Many communities, unfortunately, reject that notion, arguing instead that any increase in any tax to support education should be rejected. That is dangerously short-sighted. It suggests that political and personal self interest are far more important in those places than building a sound, progressive school system to meet the needs and the demands of contemporary students.
Residents and others will have opportunities to visit the new buildings. A public reception for the science wing at Cleveland High is planned on Aug. 2 at 7 p.m. Though a date has not been set, there will be an open house to showcase the arts center at Bradley Central. Both should attract large crowds. That's another way to demonstrate support for public education and its vital mission.