More money is not a cure all. Throwing money at a problem is not a solution. Why then does anyone believe throwing money at our local District 281 schools will make a difference? Apparently spending $10,000 a year per student isn't enough. So now that the referendum has passed, what will the district do with the money? Will they do anything differently?

The district claimed that classes are overcrowded. So what is the district's solution? They plan to hire or re-hire 30 to 40 teachers and other staff members. Pardon me, but that doesn't sound like much of a plan.

Now if our classes are really too crowded, why are 10 percent of students going to school in District 281 coming from outside the district? Why don't we tell them we don't have room? Are we going to continue importing kids from other districts to come here?

Our district also has declining enrollment. If our number of students is going down, why then are we hiring more people? It simply makes no sense. One more thing; this new referendum is supposed to last until 2015. What happens then? Can you say another referendum?

And where are our local legislators, Sandra Peterson, Lyndon Carlson and Ann Rest, who have served a combined 64 years? What is their solution to the education problem? Oh, wait a minute, I know what it is; more money!

I have been following the debate on District 281 operating levies for a little more than two years now. During that time, I've learned more about my neighborhood and the folks who live in it.

Our neighborhood is comprised of long-term retired residents living on fixed incomes interspersed with first-time homeowners who took advantage of past easy credit to finally become homeowners. These folks are solid middle-class citizens who are doing the best they can to get by.

The rhetoric of the last levy campaign included a reference to "the cost of a latte a day," indicating folks were sacrificing children's education for selfish luxury. Let me put a different perspective on this claim, one that is just as valid today. The current figures put forth are $12 to $15.41 a month on a home valued at $245,000.

Twelve dollars a month equals three of the cheapest medications a month; fuel for about three trips to a local large grocery store at $4 a gallon for gas; four days of heating or cooling at current rates (costs are projected to increase 40 percent to 50 percent this winter).

Add to this an average of one to three homes per block in some stage of foreclosure.

Surely anyone with basic common sense sees that the message from taxpayers to the district last time around will be echoed in a new referendum.

It is past time for belt-tightening in the district, as well as in neighborhoods.

If a benevolent couple gave District 281 a million dollars, they would be recognized in these pages - perhaps in a smiling pose with Superintendent Mack, receiving a certificate of appreciation.

There is such a couple. However, they will never appear in these pages and Superintendent Mack won't seek them out for thanks or recognition.

They home school.

They are my neighbors, and they have raised and educated their eight children without imposing on the taxpayers once. Thirteen years times eight students is 108 years of saved taxpayer expense. At the current per-pupil spending of $10,300 per annum, this will amount to slightly over $1 million the taxpayers will NOT have paid to educate their kids.

Herein lies the paradox: My neighbors spend virtually nothing and produce a superior product. Government can't spend enough. What's wrong with this picture?

When your local candidate comes knocking on your door, ask them this: If parents could receive a voucher or tax credit for half what it costs to educate their kids in a public school, who would that hurt? It's an honest question and supremely simple. If their answer is political double-speak, vote for the other guy.

My neighbors have told me they feel blessed to have the ability and the resources to grow with their kids and direct their learning. For this, they ask for nothing in return - which is precisely what the 800-pound, budget-busting, union gorilla called "public education" will see they get.