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7 <br />J <br />We have concluded that the report you have received is <br />not a committee report in the true sense, i.e. one which has <br />been argued over and hammered into a consensus document. <br />Rather it appears to be a collection of miscellaneous and <br />contradictory numbers, ideas, and opinions of an advisory <br />group many of whom were interested in an extensive building <br />program. The range of numbers presented makes it impossible <br />to ascertain how they were arrived at. These ranges were so <br />great in fact that a skeptical citizen might question their <br />validity. Nor were we able to determine whether the numbers <br />included the cost of land and the furnishings. We may have <br />missed the point, or these items may already have been taken <br />care of, but it would be helpful for voters to have a <br />complete picture. <br />We would like to mention certain principles concerning <br />school bond referenda which we think are important. The <br />first is that it is very expensive to have an unsuccessful <br />one, in more senses than the mere cost of printing and <br />counting the ballots. Failure would also cause loss of <br />faith in our political leaders. Second it is crucial to <br />decide accurately how much the public is willing to approve. <br />(How much we need or would like to have is not pertinent to <br />a bond issue in bad economic times!) Will the public go for <br />$90 million, $70, $50, $30, or is $20 the upper limit? <br />There is no obvious rationale for the $66 million figure <br />except that it lies between $70 and $50. We believe that to <br />