As a former student of the Davis Joint Unified School District and a future teacher myself, I feel the need to address the community on the importance of Measure W. All of my schooling has been in Davis, from kindergarten right through the university level at UC Davis.

I recently received my teaching credential and am currently working toward a master's degree in education. This, along with substitute teaching, has shown me what a high level of commitment the Davis community has toward education.

Through substitute teaching as well as student teaching, I have had the chance to observe many of the schools and teachers in the Davis school district and a plethora of things stand out: Our rich music programs shine, our librarians are eager to help students pick out the perfect book, and our science teachers provide exhilarating lessons that get students pumped up about science.

Education is clearly something that is important in this district and this is not surprising considering cnnmoney.com rated Davis as the second most educated city in the entire country!

If education is so important, then why are we putting the rich programs that Davis as a community has worked so hard to create at risk every year?

Last year, the community of Davis proved its strong commitment to education by raising nearly $2 million to help protect many of the wonderful programs, teachers and librarians that we are lucky to have in our district. Unfortunately, this fundraising is limited to protecting positions and programs for the 2008-09 school year only! The same issues will come up again this spring without Measure W. Measure W would maintain and preserve educators' positions and programs that we are at risk of losing.

The children that we are teaching today are the future scientists, doctors and presidents of tomorrow and Measure W helps protect these student's educational futures. When your ballot is cast, I urge you to show your commitment to education by voting yes on W.

Jessica Suey