It's All About the Learning-Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk

By Joyce Daubert

Ramona parents, teachers, schools, and the community certainly have high expectations for our children to learn and progress. Expectations without actions are unlikely to produce desired results. This election is about taking action that will ensure our school district will continue to meet the high expectations of our community.

Given the importance of schools in a small, rural town, how do we walk the walk? Parents make sure their well rested, well fed children get to school on time with their lessons prepared and backpacks in order. Parents attend Back to School Nights, performances, and events. They chaperone and volunteer in their children's classrooms and interests. Teachers walk the walk by connecting and caring about their students and preparing tight and rehearsed lessons to present while continually monitoring understanding. Schools walk the walk by being well maintained, organized, safe while welcoming to visitors. The community sponsors teams, stocks supplies students require, and places sports and events advertising posters in their windows. Perhaps they donate to club fundraisers.

Every last one of us can make the biggest possible difference in our schools by voting YES on Measure Q. With the $40,000,000 Measure Q raises we can pay off the $32,000,000 COP loan of 2004 that was used to build new schools and renovate the high school. Your YES vote puts the district on a sound financial footing to avoid a state take over from which our town would take decades to recover. No more pay cuts for teachers allows them to stay in our schools with the ability to support their own families. YES on Measure Q provides $8,000,000 to repair our aging facilities. The money Measure Q generates, by law, is stays in Ramona and will be monitored by a community oversight committee. The average cost to property owners is $39.00 per $100,000 of assessed value. That averages $120 per year for the average homeowner.

Together we can walk the walk to maintain the high quality of our schools, show our students that their education matters to all of us, support our community, and assure that Ramona continues to be known as that rural community with traditional values and great schools.