"Vote yes on C, for our children and our community"

Reposted here with the permission of The Davis Enterprise - http://www.davisenterprise.com/opinion/opinion-columns/vote-yes-on-c-for-our-children-and-our-community/

Communities make decisions based on their values. In Davis, we have made education a priority for many years.

Since 1984, a parcel tax has been in place in Davis to fund public education programs. Davis schools are a point of pride in our community.

Davis voters have chosen over the years to keep music, art and science in our schools. We have decided that libraries are important. We have made the decision to fund school counselors as California places 49th out of the states for counselor/student ratio. (Source: U.S. Department of Education, Common Core of Data, National Institute for Educational Statistics-Public Elementary and Secondary School Student Enrollment and Staff From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2009-10)

Many communities throughout the state have passed parcel taxes to fund education. This is not a situation unique to Davis. In this way, communities are able to exercise some local control as to what programs continue in their public schools.

Parcel taxes are often what make the difference in continuing a quality education program as the state budget crisis continues to take away more resources from our schools.

At the end of this school year, Measures Q and W will expire after a four-year term.

Measure C renews the Q and W funding at the same rate ($320 per year). The term of Measure C was extended to five years to coincide with a planned school board election, which will save election costs (rather than holding a separate election at the four-year mark).

Measure C accounts for $6.5 million of our school district’s budget, and our Davis school programs will be gutted if it does not pass. As many as 100 teachers will lose their jobs without this funding.

Measure C will continue the funding for the programs that are important to Davis residents and our children, such as:

• Vibrant school libraries staffed by certificated teachers who help our kids learn research skills and engender a love of reading;
• Elementary science programs that give our students an introduction to lab science and scientific method;
• Elementary music programs that are the building blocks of Davis’ renowned band and orchestra programs;
• Class size-reduction in kindergarten through third grades; the student/teacher ratio is especially important at these early grade levels;
• Reading specialists who support our students who are struggling with reading and assist with schoolwide literacy instruction;
• Continued availability at the secondary level of a sufficient number of classes in core subjects and key classes, such as science, math, English, social sciences, AP courses and foreign languages;
• Continued availability of athletics and co-curricular programs, including drama, debate and journalism, in addition to the athletic director position and stipends for every district-paid coach; and
• Continued availability of school counselors and school nurses.

Davis schools are a huge part of what make our community a great place to live. Not only are Davis students educated well, but Davis schools contribute to safe neighborhoods and steady home values. So even if you do not have kids in Davis schools now, a "yes" vote on Measure C is an investment in our community.

Measure C is a mail-in ballot election with ballots sent to voters on Monday. Watch for your ballot in the mail, vote, seal and sign the envelope and mail it back as soon as possible.

Ballots must be at the Woodland elections office by March 6, so we are urging voters to mail ballots by March 2, if possible. There is also a ballot collection box at the Stephens Branch Library, 315 E. 14th St. in Davis.

In many ways, Davis is a company town with UC Davis in our midst, and education is our business. Education is a core part of our community values.

Vote your values — Yes on Measure C, for our children and our community.

— Barbara Archer and Lori Duisenberg are Davis parents who are parent co-chairs of the Yes on C campaign.