What would you do if there was something wrong with your home, but it only affected your children or your grandchildren?

For example, what if there was mold only growing in the bedroom of your son or daughter, where only they would be breathing it in … but not in your bedroom or anywhere else in the house, so it didn’t affect you?

What if the roof leaked over only your child’s ceiling? How about if the walls in your kids’ room were incomplete so they could not focus on reading a book or doing their homework without constant distractions … but all the rooms where you read or work have full walls that allow you to focus on whatever you are doing without disturbing your concentration?

What if the heating system left your child’s room cold and damp most of the time … but worked fine in all the rooms where you spend time so you are warm and comfortable?

How about if the only faucets your children could drink water from in your home had to be constantly drained first because they are tainted with lead … but the water from the faucets you drink from is completely clean and safe?

What if all those things were happening in your home but didn’t affect you and only affected your children or grandchildren? Would you just ignore those problems and let your kids suffer while you lived in the nice, healthy, well-built part of your home?

Well, that is what is happening in the Fort River and Wildwood elementary schools in Amherst. Your children and grandchildren live in those schools for six or seven hours ever day, for 180 days of the year, for seven years of their young lives. They are breathing in the mold, drinking the lead-tainted water, being cold in the winter and suffering from the distractions that prevent them from learning … while you are at home in your well-built house, or at your job in a safe building, enjoying a healthy environment.

It’s really that simple. If you are OK with your children living a good part of their day in an unhealthy, unsafe place that doesn’t give them a fair chance to learn without constant interruptions and distractions, then vote “no” again on the new school.

But if you want your children to have the same healthy and safe day that you have at your job or in your home, then you should vote “yes” this time for the desperately needed new school.

Because most people want more for their children than they want for themselves. Because for most people, the children come first.

Brian Scully, of Amherst, is the parent of a Fort River Elementary School student.