Conley: Exercise your right to vote

I have always been an early bird.

My mother, on the other hand, was not (nor has she changed) and she would arise later than my dad. For this reason, my dad and I spent many mornings together dipping burnt toast into our black coffee and talking. As I got older, the ritual continued and the conversations continued.

In fact, we still talk every morning over coffee, now using cell phones. We go through every topic from the weather, to the stock market, onto politics, then what the kids, dogs, and cats are doing, and finally through our daily to do list. Yesterday, I was planning a busy day of meetings and school visits ending the day at a two community meetings.

Both meetings were focused upon one topic, the upcoming school district override. With four children in our household attending schools in the district, I am very familiar with the override. Since I am also an educator, I am even more familiar with the intricate details and information. Before the comments begin, I want to state again that I am an educator and passionate about our children and their education.

It is my life and I cannot separate work from home because it is completely ingrained in who I am. School was my safe haven as a child and I know it still is for many of our children today. As I have stated, I am an educator. I am a public servant. Coming from a family of private business owners, I was the black sheep. Black sheep or not, I believe in education. I believe in our children having the best education and opportunities for success.

I have been asked by community members what they can do to help our children. First, we need all our community to support our children and educators through volunteering. Contact me for details. We need everyone to participate and vote this fall in the override. We need to continue to have strong schools that build our strong community.

We need to keep our children in our community. I had a powerful conversation with a principal of a Maricopa charter school. We agreed we want our students to stay in Maricopa. We have different elementary schools and different middle schools, but we have one phenomenal high school. We want our children in our community. This fall our community will be voting upon an override to continue the support for our schools in our community.

In having conversations with various people who need factual information, I have listed the facts:
• The override will be voted upon Nov. 8.
• The last day to register to vote is Oct. 11, but the county Elections Office will be closed Monday for Columbus Day. You can register online at http://servicearizona.com.
• The 15 percent is a continuation of the current override. Your taxes will not increase, but stay the same. 
• Property values went down this year. 
• The 15 percent override equates to $17per month or approximately $205 per year. 
• A community walk to distribute factual information will start on Oct. 22 at 8 a.m. at the elementary schools. Walkers will distribute information regarding the override.
• The override funds will be used to continue servicing our students at the current rate, continuing current programs and current staffing. 
• Arizona educational financial model is not Utah’s or Texas’ model. We do not have the same state support or resources as these states. 
• Arizona has cut millions from school funding in the last three years and the future forecasts are the same for the next three years.

Exercise your American right and vote! Exercise your community right, volunteering in our schools when you are able, and above all, thank a teacher because you can read this article. They taught you then and we continue teaching our children now.