"Green Acres" and its "bad school system" welcome you, "Today" show.

Really, we do.

Sure, your comments stung us. We have watched our children flourish in Decatur City Schools. We have watched our teachers and administrators working late to improve the lives of their students.

And while we continue to cherish our remaining "green acreage," we have watched Decatur evolve from a trading post for cotton and cows into the home of the most advanced producer of satellite-launch rockets in the world.

We dispute your depiction of our home — and are chagrined that six million viewers were watching — but still we extend our hospitality and even our thanks.

Decatur's progress over the decades has resulted from a painful tendency toward introspection. We love what we have, but we are harsh in our self-evaluations. That harshness has at times caused discord, but it has made Decatur a better place. Our quality of life is better than that enjoyed by our parents, and we are determined our children will enjoy opportunities unavailable to us.

But always the risk of complacency hovers. Your broadcast jolted us. Why does an outsider look at Decatur and conclude it has a bad school system? What can we do to improve both the reality and the perception of our most important gift to our children?

Any hard feelings we might have harbored disappeared with your impressive decision to take a closer look at our home. It is a home that will merit even more pride tomorrow, in part because your broadcast prodded us to renewed action.

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