School bond campaign was not negative

I was surprised to see The Acorn's New Year's editorial (Dec. 28) list the defeat of the Oak Park School Bond H6 as an example of what really concerns The Acorn's staff about "what's in store for the future." The editors wrote, "A bond measure to raise funds for Oak Park schools became the target of negative campaigning."

To set the record straight, there was no "negative" campaigning in that election. In fact, a small but earnest group of grass-roots Oak Park residents worked hard to get the facts out about the $71-million school bond.

In many ways, the election showcased how democracy works best. Those who believed the bond needed to be defeated talked about the $1.1 million allocated to remodel the high school kitchen, the $71,000 for wireless clocks and countless other capital expenses that would not positively impact the quality of education for our children. In fact, The Acorn itself has some questions about the school bond, reflected in its news coverage, its own editorial after the bond was defeated and its decision not to endorse the initiative.

Good communities don't necessarily approve everything put up for a vote. So I'd recommend citing the defeat of H6 as an example of something positive that happened in 2006--the voters exercised their own critical thinking skills.
Barbara Bronson Gray
Oak Park