'The sky is falling'

Bonsall Unified School District's version of the well-known fable “Chicken Little” follows the same premise as its predecessor. In the original folk tale a young chick is hit on the head by a falling acorn and is convinced that the world is coming to an end.

In BUSD’s version of the tale, the cry isn’t, “The Sky Is Falling”, but rather, “The Students Are Coming”. They present an alarming picture of rapid growth that demands building a new high school for up to 1,500 students. What they don’t admit is that not all of these students will be going to Bonsall High School.

There are over a dozen religious and private high schools and over 30 public high schools in the surrounding areas to choose from. Student transfers out of BUSD to other schools and home schooling options are also higher than normal.

Couple that with the abysmal number of students who choose to continue from BUSD’s middle school to the high school (37 percent), and the immediate pressure is obviously not as great as they would lead you to believe.

BUSD needs to take a realistic look at their student numbers, their current capacity and their financial situation. They could then pick a path that takes advantage of other options that they have at their disposal rather than burden taxpayers with multiple bonds and the indebtedness that would entail.

Let’s stick to a real assessment of needs versus wants rather than perpetuating a modern-day fable. Thanks for your time.

Jim Ryan