ONE TEACHER ASKS ABOUT "THE VOTE" - HER LETTER FOR YOU TO THINK ABOUT...

I received this from our friend Shauna: Dear Friends,        A friend of mine wrote an article titled, "What if it Really Didn't Matter?" recently, and it brought me to thinking about how we each need to step forward to make changes.  I have been hesitant to write you about the upcoming special election because I didn't think I had anything to add; I didn't have "insider information" to share.  But I am not sure if the urgency of this election is very clear, and with absentee ballots being out and the election in less than two weeks, I thought I would write.       I am writing today to ask you to vote yes on on 1A and 1B, and on Measure D. Measure D will cost MDUSD parcel owners about $99 per year for five years. At this point, if Measure D passes but the other two don't, we'll still have some pretty terrible budget issues to face. Here's a link to the district information: http://www.mdusd.org/NewsRoom/Documents/NewMeasures/measurehowyoucanhelp.pdf       In various conversations, one of the biggest concerns I have heard is that MDUSD has had some issues of mismanagement in the past. No one is more angry than I am about those issues of taxes and paperwork not getting filed in time.  I got assurance for myself that there will be an oversight committee made up of a variety of community representatives, and they will have to ensure that the money will be spent on the programs listed in the information.       The thing is that the current budget cuts have been crazy, but in reviewing the records, I don't know what other cuts could be made. If you know me at all, you know how much I believe that it's the "extras" that keep kids going to school. In a conversation with a College Park student recently, he told me that the reason he continued to do well in school was so that he could follow his dream of playing sports. I know he's not an unusual case.  We need to keep our programs both in and out of the classroom. Athletics, performing arts, various levels of classes... our students need to have access to all of these things. We also need to have technology, including hardware, software AND training for teachers and students. The deep cuts to technology support are also frustrating, because at both site and district levels we won't have enough people to keep things running, and much of our equipment is older and needs to be replaced.       I am not a resident of MDUSD, as you know. However, I have donated money to MDUSD, both in support of elections and to support classroom/school projects for my classes and others over the years. Our district needs your support too.       Thanks for listening. Love, Shauna