Next week’s election will show how much Red Oak really cares

Red Oak, prepare to be tested.

Tuesday, Sept. 8, voters will decide not only who is going to serve the next three years on the  Red Oak school board, but will also demonstrate whether or not this community truly cares about, well, anything. 

This election will be one of the most important in Red Oak school history, and I don’t think I’m overstating that. 

Potentially, the fate of a $15 million construction project will be determined when two challengers who have voiced reservations about the Tigervision project run against two of the three board members who voted for it in December. 

Whether you agree the new high school and the method used for funding it is appropriate or not, this is your chance to voice your opinion. 

The school board was heavily criticized both at and after that December meeting, in which they approved the Tigervision project 3-2, for not allowing the public a chance to vote on it. As such, this election has essentially become a Tigervision referendum. 

If incumbents Lee Fellers and Bill Drey are re-elected, you are guaranteed to see a new high school in Red Oak in two years’ time. If they are both voted off, Tigervision may not happen. While the board approved it in December, they haven’t approved funding for it yet, and without those bonds being sold, the building won’t be built. 

That isn’t to say it won’t happen if Johnson and Johnson are elected, but I would be surprised if it did on the same timeline on which it is
currently progressing. 

Personally, I always advocated for the public to vote on the entire $25 million construction project, instead of breaking it up into two phases and postponing that necessary vote for a few years. At the same time, I can understand the rationale for moving forward with it now. 

As such, I’m somewhat torn as to who to vote for, and as a result, I’m sure not going to tell you or anyone else how to vote. 

What I will do, though, is tell you to vote. 

School board elections typically are, well, boring. There’s usually no controversy, no candidates and as such, no race to speak of. As a result, elections usually feature voter turnouts around 10 percent. 

This time is different.

There is controversy, and well beyond the Tigervision project. There are candidates; four, in fact, for two seats, and as a result, a very real race with very different options to choose. 

I personally appreciate and respect all four candidates for being willing to run for this unpaid, unappreciated position, as they are the reason voters will actually have a real choice at this election. 

Voters have an option, and whichever one they choose will send a very loud message to the district and to those who support and oppose the Tigervision project. 

So, it’s now up to Red Oak to take advantage of this opportunity. We pride ourselves on our patriotism and our constitutionally-protected rights. We do a good job of talking that talk; it’s now time to put action to those words. 

There’s no excuse not to. You have choices and you have opportunity. If you can’t vote Tuesday, swing by the County Auditor’s office sometime this week, or on Monday, and vote absentee. It will only take a minute. 

This election is going to have a tremendous impact on the future of this community and the children in it. I can’t tell you with 100 percent certainty who the right man for the job is, but I can tell you not voting is 100 percent the wrong thing to do. 

Get out and vote Tuesday Red Oak. It’s your job as an American and you owe it to your community. 

Gregory Orear is the General Manager/Editor of the Red Oak Express and Glenwood Opinion-Tribune. He can be contacted at publisher@redoakexpress.com.