We would hope a reasonable compromise can be worked out between the Marshall school district and the Harrison County-Marshall Joint Airport Advisory Board regarding proposed ordinances governing zoning around the Harrison County airport.

The airport, as most know, is located just south of the well-named Airport Park and behind a major Marshall subdivision. Most Marshall development over the past several decades has been not far from the airport. We assume that will continue, as perhaps development itself continues.

The ordinances themselves are designed for safety purposes, which is not a bad thing at all. The question is, considering the current limited use of the airport, are they really necessary for safety? This is the question the board and community must ask itself.

What we do know is that they are somewhat necessary for the airport to receive federal and state grant money. The airport cannot get the full amount of grant money without them.

Again, the question that must be answered is whether the restrictions placed on both the school district and other private property owners would be worth what might be gained.

We support most measures to improve our airport and believe it is important to have a good facility here, not just for local business owners, but also for those business owners we might hope to lure in the future.

Having said that, we cannot see that what the community would get in airport improvements would be nearly worth what it would give up in other ways, particularly in the loss of the Marshall school district to fully utilize property at one existing school and vacant land at another.

The vacant land is less important, though it would become practically worthless. Who would want to buy such property when it could not be developed in any way? The land was obtained by the district long ago, but we still don't want to see the loss of that asset.

Of much greater concern is Crockett Elementary, which lies within the restrictive zoning area. The school effectively be "stuck" in its present development. No new construction could be added. Moreover, the ordinance does not allow the rebuilding of a structure that is destroyed by more than 51 percent.

This puts the school district — and by extension, all us taxpayers — in a distinctly untenable position.

If, God forbid, Crockett is struck by fire or a tornado, what would the district do then? This is particularly true if the other site is out as a replacement site.

We believe if all parties look diligently enough they will find a way to solve the problem so that the airport can be accommodated to help get it grants.

However, if we are forced to choose, we choose the schools. Yes, airports are important in economic growth, but they are not nearly as important as schools and that is the way we should approach this decision.

We should also note that there are private landowners who would also be negatively affected by adopting the ordinances and all due consideration should be given to their interests as well.

The only other comment we would have regards the advisory board itself, which we believe is a creation allowed by the Texas Constitution.

It is misnamed as it clearly is not "advisory" at all. Any group which can, of itself, pass ordinances that we must follow is not advisory. Not even the county commissioners' court has the ability to pass ordinances. Typically, any such a group would be able to be controlled by the election process. We're sorry that this is not the case here.