OUR VIEW: Good luck, students, as you go back to school

Today is the first day of class in Culpeper, so make the most of it and enjoy your formative years.

Bring on the pencils. Bring on the books. Bring on the teachers’ dirty looks.

Parents love it. Kids are glad to see their friends, but otherwise just tolerate it. Alice Cooper doesn’t like it because it inspired some small-town editor to mess with his lyrics.

It’s the first day of school, and students are teeming in the halls of Culpeper County’s 10 public institutions of learning.

Hopefully, the students won’t get too many dirty looks from teachers, but the books and pencils are good things. They, along with the teachers, are the means by which students can get a high-quality education.

We wish all Culpeper County students the best of luck as they embark on another year of school.

***

GOV’T EFFICIENCY: We applaud the School Board and county supervisors for their efforts to save money by consolidating services.

One of the proposals involved having the schools’ maintenance department repair the school division’s fleet of 125 school buses. Some of them are 14 years old, School Board Chairman George Dasher said.

Another proposal involved contracting such services to a local trucking company.

The important thing is that they are exploring ways to save money — and keep our tax bills down.

Not every idea that comes out of these discussions will be a great one. And some will sound great at first, but not be so great upon closer inspection. Those ideas, however, can bring us one step closer to a great plan that will save us a lot of money.

***

YOUTH ART: Congratulations and thanks to the Windmore Foundation for launching a new youth arts program. As reported in Sunday’s paper, it’s always great to have another way to showcase our young local talent.