Vote ‘yes’ on budget override

Over the past month, I’ve heard various reasons why people feel they must vote “yes” on tomorrow’s proposed override. And I’ve heard others argue about why they won’t vote for it.  There are various reasons given on either side.

We all have different perspectives and situations in life, and I’ve enjoyed the lively discussion with friends and associates. For me it comes down to some core questions, and I would like to ask these questions to all Maricopans.

Whether you have kids; whether you are retired and on a fixed income; whether your kids attend a private, charter or school outside of our Maricopa — regardless of your religion or belief system, please take a moment to reflect and ask yourself these questions: Can I bless the life of a child by voting “yes” on this override? Will I be giving some kids a better chance at a better education? Will our schools be better off WITHOUT this money? Will Maricopa’s kids be better off WITHOUT this money? Will our City be better off WITHOUT this money going into our school district?

To these questions some will say, “My reason for opposing the override isn’t because I don’t care about the kids or our community, it’s because…” Whatever your reasoning may be, let’s try to explain that to the kids: “Sorry kids. No PE, no art, no music, no librarians, no sports …and sorry you are not receiving the attention you need from your teacher who has a class of 38 students…sorry school isn’t so great anymore. It’s all because ___________.” You fill in the blank. Fill it in with your reason and tell the kids. I feel we need to put ourselves in the shoes of these young students.

How would I feel if my school education wasn’t supported by my parents or those around me? I asked my own first-grader at Pima Butte Elementary about how she felt about the changes at her school, and she said that the thing she misses the most is not being able to take home books from the library. Last year she could do that, but then the budget was cut again.