To the Editor:
Our family began calling Jefferson home a little over three years ago. In the time we’ve lived here, we have come to care deeply for this county and its people, including its youngest citizens. It only stands to reason, then, that we fully support the proposed school bond and plan to Vote Yes this September.
We are voting YES for the safety and security of our children. It seems unlikely that the violence we hear about in the news would happen in Jefferson, but we want to do everything in our power to prevent that possibility. Currently, the buildings within our district need an upgrade to operate in a more secure manner with limited access and more control over who comes in and out of the buildings. As parents, it scares us to know that anyone could come into the building and have access to classroom hallways and our children. We know that new buildings don’t fully prevent bad things from happening to our children, but they are a step toward doing everything we can to ensure their safety. A YES vote would promote safety before and after school as well, since it calls for a major revamp of the drop off and parking areas at the current elementary school. Students will be safer when they are no longer darting between cars in the on-street parking when parents take them to and pick them up from school.
We are voting YES to provide a quality educational environment for our children. Two of our current buildings are at the Century mark, with the Intermediate School built in 1915 and the Middle School built in 1919. One hundred years ago, students sat in rows of small student desks while one teacher lectured from the front of the room. Today, current classrooms are crowded as students work collaboratively at tables or groups of desks, utilize many types of technology, and associates and co-teachers are in the room to support instruction, with everyone squeezed in next to computer stations and Chromebook carts. To prepare 21st century leaders, our classrooms must be ready to handle the needs of 21st century instruction with space to work collaboratively, allow for different types of instruction, and plenty of room for technology. A YES vote will also help student learning by promoting more teacher collaboration, shared instruction, and access to support resources for students.
We are voting YES to better utilize our resources. It logically follows that moving from operating five school and administration buildings down to two will result in a financial benefit for our district. The savings of operating costs for transportation and utilities alone is significant. While we can’t pass a school bond to pay for a better teacher to student ratio or different curriculum resources, we can pass one that will allow us to save on operating costs and redirect those saved funds to other areas which will impact instruction. As we consolidate locations, we will see long term financial benefits as a district.
We are voting YES because we feel the kids in Greene County deserve the best! Our parents, grandparents, and community members made sure that we had a safe, secure, and positive place to go to school — just as yours did for you. Why wouldn’t we pay it forward by doing the same for our children and the future students of Greene County Schools?
A YES vote in September will lead to great pride in our community for our students, and for those of us who will make sacrifices to make it happen.
We are proud to call Jefferson home, and we are committed to doing all we can to make it someplace that others want to call home, too. We will Vote YES on Sept. 13 and hope you will join us in doing the same.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark and Wendy Vander Linden Jefferson
