Being unhappy is not cause to sue

It is a very sad day in District 204 when a lawsuit has been filed against the district school board by a group or residents that feels that their voices have not been heard.

I know that the people supporting this group have a variety of reasons for being unhappy. There are, in fact, many residents in Dist. 204 who have been unhappy with how things have gone over the last two years. Some of this was within control of the board, some was not. But many of the unhappy residents are not filing a lawsuit and jeopardizing the solution to overcrowding in our middle schools and high schools that is increasing each year.

I believe that the board has done its best to acquire the Brach-Brodie property - in fact, some have argued that they continued their attempts for too long. The district cannot acquire the Brach-Brodie property due to the price decided by a jury. We are running out of parcels that a high school can be built on. In reading the lawsuit, the group is essentially asking that the 2006 referendum be turned over. If this group gets what it wants, we will likely never see a third high school in Dist. 204. I know that in 2006, I voted for a referendum that promised to build "a third high school". The referendum did not promise a location or specific boundaries. Many people feel the same way.

I am urging the NSFOC group to reconsider going forward with their lawsuit. The implications of this lawsuit may impact District 204 for a very long time, and it may be very difficult to fix the damage. I hope that this group can come up with a different way of having their concerns heard, and I hope that the school board will be willing to address any valid concerns. This does not mean that I think the board should cave in to any "demands". While I can appreciate people being unhappy, I cannot see anything but a bad result from NSFOC's current actions. I hope they can choose a different approach, before it's too late.

Bill Jindrich

Aurora