Finalists In the 1994-1995 Harry Singer Foundation Project

Alternatives: Proposals For Local Governments Struggling With Limited Resources

In the fall of 1994, the Harry Singer Foundation invited a limited number, of mostly small-town schools, to take part in a pilot program. Students were required to find ways to stretch the resources of local government and make services more responsive to the desires of citizens. The Foundation hopes to gradually add larger communities, and offer categories for innovative state and national projects.

Volunteers at the Foundation narrowed the entries to 22. They were then edited and sent to the National Center for Financial Education in San Francisco, California, where they were reduced to five. These five were then forwarded to a consultant and former-public official in Minnesota who has been in the forefront of the reinventing government movement; the innovative mayors of Indianapolis and Houston, 12 governors, two former-governors and two members of the United States Congress. Many had the help of staff, but all read the proposals and expressed an interest in what these young people had to say.

The final entries are reproduced on the following pages, just as they were seen by the reviewers at the National Center for Financial Education in San Francisco. Across from each paper we reveal the school and participants, information that was kept from judges.

This project was a logical extension of our continuing Responsibility and White Hat programs. Over the years, through student submissions and other sources, we have collected stories of good-things going on around the country, in both the public and private sectors. These inspirational examples have been accessible to anyone with a computer and a modem since the fall of 1993.

Second Place Winner

Camden, Tennessee

Teacher
Wanda Allen

Students
Glen Borchert
Heather Robins
Stephanie Dutton
Joseph Watson
Diana Molina
Kristin Sullivan
William Hawkins
Shayne Holland
Esther Gutierrez
Rob Florence
Nora Morgan
Scotty Harris
Misty Steele

Library

As a resident, and having just become a voting citizen, I am struck by one thing; the utter lack of anything we as a community can both benefit from and take pride in. I have lived my entire life within the boundaries of this town and have seen every proposal to improve the community shot down. In the mid-eighties, an industrial park was opened by the county commission with the hope of attracting some job-producing industries. Today, that same park harbors more rabbits than employees. While several companies have offered to locate in our town, none have been quite suitable for our commission's taste. In 1988, a four-lane highway was proposed to connect with its neighboring town. While there has been strong support for this concept, the funds have yet to be allocated. Just two years ago, three Civil War gun boats were found directly off the shores of our river. A proposal was made to raise these gunboats and the barest of estimates promised an annual increase in tourism of over $800,000. Today our gun boats still lie in their murky graves. In March of 1995, the county commission was asked to improve our community, to vote on something which we could all take pride in: a new library. Our current library is the old health department. It is unreasonably small and has extensive water damage.

The Activity

When we performed our polls in early February, we found a strong interest in the library, but thought the commission would pass it easily. Group 1 polled 55 people, asking them this question: What service do you think our community needs most? The answers they received are as follows: Forty percent said more activities for the youth, 35 percent wanted a modern library, 12 percent, a civic center or auditorium, 5.7 percent wanted a more modern police force, 3.7 percent suggested better health care for the needy, 1.8 percent said a more modern hospital and 1.8 percent wanted to see more activities for the elderly.

The proposed library has been designed to act in some respects as a civic center. It contains two large meeting rooms which will be open for public use. With this in mind, 47 percent of the people polled are in favor of this library. However, if the library additionally draws the youth of the community, an overwhelming majority of the people polled would be behind it. It is evident that the community wants this library!

Unfortunately, when Group 2 polled our local officials, they turned a deaf ear to our findings. We phoned 47 officials and asked them what they thought might be cut from our local budget, if anything?

Fifteen replied library funds, twelve said various public service organ- izations, three said Chamber of Commerce funds, one commissioner said charity, one teacher said teachers' health care insurance

Until recently, everyone thought the project was well on its way. An architect was hired and we learned that an old high school building was available to be renovated and enlarged in order to house this project. The county commission promised $500,000 to the library fund, enabling the county to apply for a federal grant of $100,000. This would leave the library fund with a fairly modest sum to raise. In the meantime, a new set of county commissioners took office. The new commission decided to cut the donation of $500,000. The many people who had worked hard and spent many hours on this project were devastated.

The next step of our proposal was to have Group 3 ask the librarian of our school to map out approximate figures on the cost of the new library. The results of this were: the main area would cost $267,420, the entry area would cost $63,468, the multi-purpose room and bathrooms would cost $196,900, clean brick and roof repair would cost $10,000, demolition of the old school building would cost $18,000, and paving and landscaping would cost $55,000. Total cost of construction would be $610,788, with a contingency fee of $61,078 and A&E fee of $43,671. This brings the total fee to $715,537. In the light of these figures, it is impossible to even consider a new library unless we have the original $500,000.

The Project

When we first considered this project, we could not come to a consensus. There was some talk of volunteer work, replacing part of the paid labor in our community, but this seemed impractical and too simplistic. This March, our Advanced American History class was still debating over a suitable proposal for our essay; the blow dealt us by our county commission silenced our debate. Our proposal was suddenly obvious and unanimous; to find an alternate way of getting our library!

The goal of the class was to arouse the public. If the public became more aware of the issue and expressed itself, maybe the county commission would reconsider its decision. In order to get the public involved, the class decided to advertise. We agreed to write letters to the editor of our local newspaper, circulate petitions, invite speakers, distribute flyers, place radio and newspaper ads, attend county commission meetings and get others to attend the meetings, conduct demonstrations and erect road signs. One member of our class brought up an idea for a trademark. Remember when people put red ribbons on their car antennae during Desert Storm? We wanted that kind of recognition.

Our class discussed many fund raising ideas. We thought about having a fish supper. We would get the food donated by a local restaurant or grocery store, then we would charge $4-5 a ticket. We spoke of car washes and outright donations. A community cookbook was mentioned as a way of raising money. We would gather recipes from the community that had a family history or some special story behind them. We would print up the recipes along with their family story and sell them for about $15 each.

Incentives and Disincentives

Group 4 found that some people might be put out of work if, in funding the library, the decision is made to cut funds from other projects.

Group 5 researched the incentives and disincentives of our proposal. On the positive side, more jobs would be created, such as library assistants, librarians, janitors, architect, construction workers, landscaping, increased library parking, increased room for new books, more room for our genealogical society, a better working environment, meeting rooms, a showplace for our community preserving foundation of original school and less congestion than at the old library. There were few problems with this project, a possible tax increase, the possibility of cutting funds from other areas of the budget, objections from the few wanting to keep school as a school instead of a library and an increase of traffic in the area of the new library.

Conclusion

Hopefully we can get the library built; especially for the children. As a senior, I know how hard it is to gather information when researching school projects and how hard it is to work in a library that is decaying. My brother is only in third grade and I hope that he will be able to have a new library to study in and be proud of. The new library will not only be useful, but it will give the community a feeling of respectability. These are enough reasons for me to dedicate my time to and try my hardest to succeed. I pray we meet our goals and when we do, I will be thrilled to have had a part in it.                   Back