Friday, August 11, 2006

Still a Little Miffed

March elections have come and gone but while talking to Jon's aunt yesterday I thought to myself.. why would anyone ever turn down a school levy? Our local school system is running out of money and the levy that could have solved their problem was vetoed by the March ballot. Now, debate has never been my strong suit but wouldn't you want to make sure that your children, grandchildren, and future leaders of the country get the best education possible? It kills me to think that teachers are losing their positions, or are being transferred through out the school system because the general public couldn't stomach a small raise in taxes to ensure a better overall life for the children. His aunt was a Japanese foreign language teacher for as long as I have known his family, but because the levy failed, the school system eliminated her position, and come September, she will be a third grade teacher at a new elementary school. Many sports and art programs were also done away with in an attempt to save money. The middle school that I attended has all ready been closed and there is now talk of my high school closing also. And what really gets me is how obvious it is that the schools need more money. Jon and I were talking to my sister, who just graduated from high school in June, over dinner last night about his aunt and her family:

Me: "What's so cool about it is that their three year old son is bilingual!"

Her: "What's bilingual?"

Me: "Umm.. it means he can speak two languages. He knows English and Japanese."

Unless you have an extremely viable reason, please do not vote against a school levy. Don't let your children graduate from high school without knowing what "bilingual" means.

No comments: