I was dismayed to read last Sunday’s hatchet job regarding the neighbors questioning the design of the new Inlet View School. The ADN, like Rep. Zack Fields, owes the neighbors an apology. Citizen involvement is a treasured value in this community, and the disparagement of those who, in good faith, commented on a poor design, does a disservice to all citizens by discouraging citizen involvement.
The article did not address the true source of the dispute, a non-public design process from which the neighborhood was excluded. The concerns regarding the design are not only held by a small group, as your article would have one believe. The result of this substandard process was a substandard design that the majority of the neighborhood opposes. The only benefit I have heard voiced regarding the proposed design is that it is cost efficient not to have to relocate the students during the construction. But why would the school district want to move forward with a poor design the majority of the neighborhood opposes?
For the first time in my life I voted against a school bond because of the school district’s failure to take the neighborhood’s concerns seriously. The ADN’s choice to now vilify citizens who have expressed a concern with an inappropriate design is not helpful or appropriate.
— Marc Wilhelm
Anchorage
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