Lemont Patch is accepting letters to the editor, which will be posted on the site as received.

The following letter was submitted to Patch by a supporter of the $20 million working cash bond referendum for Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A. The views shared are opinions belonging solely to the writer.

We could encourage those who support the referendum and those who are against to share your views in a letter to the editor. We will post any letters we receive, so long as they are roughly 300 words and adhere to Patch's Terms of Use.

If you're interesting in submitting a letter, e-mail Lemont Patch Editor Amanda Luevano at amanda@patch.com.

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I support the referendum but I understand there are people very much against giving the schools more money. Make no mistake, I do not want my taxes raised. Unfortunately they ARE going to rise, whether we vote on the increase or the state requires it. As a community, we need to decide if we will control the increase and our schools, or if we want the state to take over. If you look at past experiences from other communities, the state has a history of raising taxes more than what the district is asking for. I don’t like those odds with my money.

I appreciate the fact that people want to have more control over school funding. As I speak to others, they sometimes ask, "Where did the money go?" The money is in the school. The state owed us over $1 million at one point, and has not fully paid. Lemont has not passed an operating revenue referendum in 41 years. Should we have limited programming a long time ago? Most likely yes, and we would not be facing a state take over, but as a parent with children in the school system I want them to have every advantage. I believe my kids and the community are worth keeping our educational programming. I am not upset that the schools have tried to keep up excellence with unreasonable funding, but am disappointed we got to this point.

The question now is where do we go from here? Let’s vote “yes” for our community. I realize our taxes will increase, but that is inevitable. There are now strict controls on how we spend the money, so the issue of knowing where it is going has also been addressed. Saying “NO,” lowers our children’s academic performance and our home values.

Cindy Bromberek Schuit
Lemont, Ill.