So… I am not usually one to just come out and beg, but that’s pretty much what this is. This weekend we are not just voting for a congressman (ahem, cough *vote Woody Jenkins* ahem). This Saturday, March 8, the EBRP One-Cent Sales Tax Renewal is up for the vote in the form of three propositions.
Proposition ONE: 51%- Funds repairs/renovations, technology, construction, improvement of classrooms
Proposition TWO: 8%- Provides for alternative education, reducing truancy
Proposition THREE: 41%- Maintains current level of teacher and school system employee pay
Let me break this down for you- if this doesn’t pass, the buildings and facilities will get WORSE… My students and I hike out to a t-building every single day on the other side of our campus that floods when it rains and has no covering. There are schools that are falling apart that will not get fixed or rebuilt. Also, if this doesn’t pass, our time-out room moderator (AKA life-saver, sanity-keeper, best friend) doesn’t have a job anymore. Kids who are 2+ grade levels behind (all my kids) don’t get the extra help they need. And worst of all, all of our salaries get cut by a LOT. The teachers/educators/administrators you want in the school system the most- the ones who have been here for 20+ years- will lose over 8,000 a YEAR (that includes my precious mother who’s been serving this system for 33 years)!!!! My salary will get cut somewhere in the range of $3-4,000 a year.
To prove to you that this ONE PENNY is worth it, here are just a few things that have happened as a result of this tax passing in 1998: 7 new schools built, 3 new schools currently under construction, major renovations at 3 schools, repairs at 40 schools, millions invested in technology, 4 new discipline centers, 2 dedicated alternative schools to serve over-age students, 40 time-out room moderators, funding of 8% of teacher salaries- therefore raising ours to some of the highest in the state (which brings in the BEST teachers!!)
I realize that most of you reading this don’t have kids in public schools in EBRP… but for the sake of these kids and the educators who love them- PLEASE VOTE YES this Saturday to all three propositions to the penny tax renewal and urge everyone you know to do the same. Nothing new is being asked… just that we renew this tiny tax that makes a HUGE difference in thousands of lives.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!