Support urged for new school bond measure

I know it sounds cheesy but our children and our schools need our help.
Sonoma Valley schools currently face a budget deficit of over $1.5 million for the next fiscal year. The Sonoma Valley Unified School District has approved a Proposition 39 General Obligation Bond Measure for the November ballot.  The $40 million bond will help us improve energy efficiency in all of our schools, saving around $1 million a year that could be put back into classrooms and used to retain and attract quality teachers, keep class sizes small, preserve school library hours, maintain music and art classes and upgrade technology in our schools.
As a parent of three Sonoma Valley students it is important to me that our children not be penalized because the State can’t figure out how to budget its money. Over the past several years we have endured more than $3 million in budget cuts and there seems to be no end in sight.
Most politicians and big businesses are short-term thinkers, doing only that which will benefit them at the moment. Instead, we need to be long-term thinkers and do what is necessary for the children currently in school and for the ones coming.
Our district has come up with a way to do this: we are asking for a no tax rate increase bond.  As parents of school-aged children, we are asking the voters to approve this bond measure with the understanding that we are not going to increase the tax rate but rather, extend the tax rate in order to repay the bonds.
By creating an energy efficient school district, we will be able to take the hundreds of thousands of dollars saved and put it towards hiring and retaining quality teachers, implementing specific technology classes for those students who want to find work after graduation, continuing to offer our incredible Honors and AP classes for those who are interested in continuing their education after graduation, extending library hours, offering more arts/music and more.
I urge everyone to support this bond measure and ask that you do one or all of the following.
Fill out the endorsement form.  Send me an email, jennywitous@gmail.com to get a copy of the form.  Fill it out and email it back to Mara Lee Ebert,  HYPERLINK “mailto:mlebert@sbcglobal.net” mlebert@sbcglobal.net, or mail it to her at 1167 Neil Court, Sonoma.
Please volunteer some of your time toward helping get this bond passed. We will need help with phone banks, manning a table at the Farmers Market – dates are August 17, 20, 24, and September 10 – walking neighborhoods, etc. Email me and let me know if you are willing to help.
Attend a Kick-Off Meeting to receive volunteer info on Tuesday, August 3 at 7 p.m. in the Pavilion.  Email me to let me know if you will attend.
Pass this message along to everyone you know including parents of past, present and future students as well as people without children.
As trite as it may sound, these are areas that will benefit all of our children and will have a profound affect on all of our futures.
Jenny Witous
Sonoma