This week and last week there have been a number of meetings with the Webster City school officials. Some have been with architects, meetings they call SPARK meetings where they are beginning to develop a plan for upgrading, redesigning or rebuilding the Webster City High School.

There was a school board meeting this week too. And there are more community meetings to talk about changes for the high school starting with tonight.

We all need to be paying attention.

The taxpayers of the community are paying the bill for this work, paying through property taxes if owned, through rent if renting. Taxes are what pays for our school teachers, buildings, property and all the changes that are deemed necessary.

These are the meetings that will decide how the high school will look for the next 50 years. The current high school is just 65 years old, but there are needs that were not anticipated just that short time ago.

And it will probably be the same in the future.

It’s important that we all become as educated as we can about what our schools really need.

If it is about the need to attract good teachers, and our school buildings don’t attract them, we need to know this.

If the buildings need air conditioning, and it is impossible to add it to the existing structure, we need to know this.

If the building is leaking, or collapsing, or has some physical problems, like inadequate sewers or kitchen facilities we need to know this also.

Our world is changing so fast, that there isn’t a plan we can create today that will assure us it will be sufficient in 25, 50 or 75 years.

But it doesn’t mean we should not try.

Building for the future is a challenge when that future is changing from week to week. The concerns and questions about the changes AI will make to our world are in the news every day.

And no one really knows the answers.

What we do know is that we need to stay informed, ask questions, and discuss this with our leaders who handle our tax dollars.

We all need to be educating ourselves, and read between the lines of the news articles, the television broadcasts and the stock market prices.

We will all be impacted.

The world of communications is so multi-layered now, it is very challenging to know what information is accurate, what has not been politicized, what is being “leaked” because of the impact to the stock market.

That is where good community news organizations are vital. But the amount of information bouncing around the world is immense. When it bounces into our community, it will get our attention.

We cannot be ignorant.

Too often the local news sources are forgotten, even though we are the one news source which still does research, still confirms reported deaths, still covers local meetings. We try to explain things as we understand it.

We don’t function by rumor, we investigate them. We clarify. We give the back story. We strive to engage, and have a product that when you need the answers, you can find them without searching pages that populate by the most recent like or comment.

The value of having a local newspaper is still critically important, no matter how you read it. From the digital version to the printed page, the information provided might change slightly as the process shifts, but the intent of true journalists, editors and photographers are here to bring you a quality product that you can trust.

Just know that we have limits. We can’t do it all, we can’t be at everything, report everything. We just do our best.

And we need your help.

We need you to be present at the meetings that are offered. Introduce yourself to the leaders at the school board meetings, and other meetings you may be at. Start discussions, listen and learn.

Let us know when you see something you believe is news worthy. Send us press releases, do not assume we have heard it on the grapevine or read it on Facebook. Learn the process of the decisions being made, when you can, watch them on-line, devise questions, talk to your neighbors and friends. Talk to your children.

It takes an entire community to stay informed.

So attend those meetings, bring your ideas, communicate with the school board members and the administration about how you feel about a totally different high school.

If you don’t want to see it torn down, tell someone.

If you think the parking lot is too small, point it out.

If you believe the school project should just be about education, express yourself.

And if you don’t think you are being heard, tell us.

We just want our readers, and supporters to know that we are trying to keep the Daily Freeman Journal doing what we have always done, for nearly 170 years.

Inform.