State should put park grants toward schools, instead

I know I'm writing this in vain, but still feel compelled to do so to see if I just don't get it or if the majority of people agree with me.

These are two completely different stories, having nothing to do with each other, or do they?

I read in the paper this week that 732 U-46 teachers lost their jobs, because the state of Illinois doesn't have the money to fund education.

I also have been following in the paper that the Bartlett Park District was "breaking ground" this spring on improvements to Beaver Pond (this has nothing to do with the flooding issues around the pond, which is a completely different issue that I would support funding). No, this is strictly cosmetic, and from the feedback from Beaver Pond residents at BPD meetings, very few people want this.

In any case, the BPD is forging ahead to the tune of $1.6 million, assuming the project stays on budget.

Of this total, the state is funding $800,000 and the BPD is matching this amount.

Here's where the two stories connect in my mind. Why is the state funding a frivolous project that most people don't want when the state cannot fund education? At $100,0000 each, this would pay to keep eight teachers on staff in U-46. And if the park district doesn't know what to do with the matching funds, in an ideal world, they could donate the money to keep eight more teachers employed.

Now multiply this needless spending by all the other needless projects statewide and you have a pretty good chunk of change to put toward education.

Why does frivolous spending continue in this economy and in all levels of government, and why is education taking the hit? I don't get it.

John Janisch

Bartlett