I will be voting Yes on Prop E this June because it is a powerful way for this community to help our public schools in their time of need. Traditionally, our public schools are funded entirely by the State of California on a per pupil basis. Last year, the State of California changed its funding formula, to the detriment of Coronado schools, and will now be funding school districts around the state at a higher rate than our own kids here in Coronado. In the San Diego Unified School District, they will receive over $1,000 more, per student, than we will receive to educate our students here in Coronado. To address this shortfall, our locally elected School Board is reaching out to us, the community of Coronado, to help bolster our schools and to secure funds needed to maintain what we have built over the last ten decades.
I trust my fellow neighbors who serve on the School Board. They wouldn’t come to us with this urgent call if it weren’t necessary. The last time our school district asked for our help as a community was in 1998 to build a new Middle School. This community answered that call and passed Prop KK in 1998, and today, we have a beautiful facility with students whose API number (Academic Performance Index) of 921/1000 is one of the highest, if not the highest, in San Diego County. The CUSD didn’t let us down in 1998 and they won’t let us down in 2014. I hope this community answers the call to help our schools.
I have read some letters opposed to Prop E that insist that our School Board and Community leaders cannot be trusted. I have read letters that insist on conspiracy theories and innuendos as grounds for everyone to vote no on this prop. I urge you to reject these cynical claims. All five school board members own property in Coronado. They will have the same new charges on their property tax bills as anyone else if Prop E passes. Of the eight elected Coronado officials who support Prop E, I am the only one who doesn’t own a home here in Coronado (although, my parents do own here in town.) The eight elected officials supporting Prop E range from being in their thirties to being in their fifties, sixties, or seventies. We are from all different walks of life, and three of the eight have served in the military. There are no boogie men hiding behind the grassy knoll of Prop E. Those in favor do so to support our schools and think that voting Yes on Prop E is the right thing for this community to do to keep our schools strong as we march forward into the future. Please join us in voting Yes on E in June.
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