10/18/2023
Here is a great piece written by Joy Hudler
You’ll be seeing yard and window signs going up around Burlington this week.
Vote YES on 5C-- It’s about the kids!
And it’s all about the upcoming vote for a Mill Levy Override (MLO) for Burlington’s RE-6J School District on the November general election ballot.
The ballot that you’re going to cast next month will determine the quality of education that we are able to offer all the students in the district.
There’s simply not enough funding from present property taxes and the state to offer enough money to help us hire and retain good teachers.
Or to update the curriculum. Or to increase career and technical education at the high school.
Because of technology, the world is rapidly changing daily, and we are now faced with AI (artificial intelligence), a major player in the educational system, as well as the job market.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what will happen in the next ten years.
That’s why it’s so very important that you seriously consider voting to give the district enough funding to implement its plans for our students.
Everyone knows that the most valuable asset in any community is its youth.
In my opinion, we adults in the community have a responsibility, an obligation – whether we have kids in the system anymore or not – to make sure that we are educating our number one asset in the proper way.
Are there negative issues within our district?
Most certainly. Almost anyone can come up with a variety of suggestions of what they believe our school system needs. But very few improvements are going to be able to be made if the MLO is not approved.
Granted, this could not have come at a worse time with what the state has done by increasing the valuation of every home in the school district as well as the entire state.
It does not negate, however, our desperate need for additional funding for our schools.
In regard to the state increasing valuations, you will also have an opportunity to vote on Proposition HH in the November election, which will reduce property taxes and retain state revenue.
In future columns we will address how our district ranks so poorly on revenues with all the schools in the county and surrounding area.
Quite simply put, the slogan on those signs is all too accurate.
Could this have come at a worse time?
No. And yet it is vitally necessary.
That’s the bottom line. Our school district is lacking so many resources.
First and foremost, teachers’ pay.
And then there is access to new technology. The day is here when even those holding down auxiliary farming jobs will need a working knowledge of technology. And we haven’t the funds to put that in the classrooms.
We need to create multiple tracks to graduation, not only for university studies, but a track for those interested in trade school.
The funny thing is that some of the loudest opponents of this MLO can certainly afford it.
This is not something that we can sweep under the rug to pull out at a later date, when we think it’s a better time to address the issue.
This is not something we can ignore because we’ve raised our own kids.
This is not something that will go away if we bury our heads in the sand and wait for it to pass.
We are in a situation where it’s going to be a serious problem for the education of our kids – and for Burlington – if the MLO is not passed.
A Yes on 5C is necessary for the future of our schools.
And, in the long run, the very future of this little town we call home.
Because its future is our kids. Oct. 12, 2023
