It’s never easy saying goodbye to an object, building or institution that has played an important part in your life. For example, the old AIB building downtown didn’t seem all that important until the library plan called for its demolition, then the affection began to flow.

Closing schools ranks several notches higher on the emotional scale, and that’s understandable.

But the Des Moines Board of Education’s vote last week to close five schools is a good sign that Central Iowa is willing to wipe away a tear now and then and move forward. That’s the age we live in, and that’s the competition we’re involved in. This isn’t a nation based on standing pat and making do, and the battle to keep Central Iowa vibrant requires us to keep up with all kinds of medium-sized cities all over the nation.

If a public or private building doesn’t have much on its resume besides a few decades of being there, it might have to go. If Des Moines has more school capacity than students, then it’s time to trim the inventory.

The debate over school closings, though certainly worthwhile, even necessary, had echoes of every small-town Iowa debate on the same topic. You’re signing our death warrant, the concerned citizens always say. If the school goes, it will start a chain reaction and eventually no one will want to live here.

The situation isn’t quite that dire in the capital city. It’s sad to see traditions die, and it’s a hassle to get your kids to a school that’s farther away. But if we can’t deal with an extra few minutes of transportation time, then we must not really want to live in a city at all.

Yes, we could have lots of schools filled with high-tech luxuries, if that’s what we really wanted. But we don’t. The no-frills, highly competitive approach to education is the only one that makes sense at this point in history because we have redefined what we can “afford.” We don’t mind losing $55 every time we visit a casino, but the taxpayers don’t want to overspend on education.

The city can’t afford to pave all of its streets – a performance report shows Des Moines with 6 percent of its streets unpaved, compared with 0 percent in Dayton, Ohio – but the county can afford to build the Iowa Events Center and then lose a significant amount of money on it every year.

We’re trying to educate the kids and entertain the adults at the same time, and that’s expensive.