The Bethel Park school board hopes to build a new high school. Some residents who oppose that are receiving coverage in the media. This letter is to say that some residents are in favor of the new school.

I graduated from Bethel Park in 1977, so I have firsthand knowledge of what it is like to attend the open campus of the high school. My husband and I also chose to raise two children in Bethel Park. Although both have graduated, I still go to the high school for sporting events and musicals. What I have seen inside the buildings is a disgrace. The present buildings are not cost-effective, not green in any way and not attractive in any way. They look and feel rundown.

My biggest concern is resale value in Bethel Park. All of the awards won by the surrounding districts -- and how wonderful they are to live in -- have been publicized. What is Bethel Park -- the ugly stepsister to Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair? Our community must upgrade to compete for new residents to move here. Someone looking for a great place to raise a family is going to take a look around and see bright, shiny new schools everywhere but here.

An open-campus style in this day and age is inappropriate. The safety of the students is at issue. No one ever thinks anything is going to happen until that awful day it does. Being proactive and having the students inside a building is the best idea. The weather here is another concern. There are many accidents on the campus every year, not to mention all the heating costs involved with eight buildings that have doors opened every 45 minutes in the winter.

The district's Web site -- www.bpsd.org -- has a calculator that residents can use to calculate their individual tax increase. I took a look and decided that I could afford the little extra each month to make the school district better.

DEBRA CYBULSKI

Bethel Park

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