I am reaching out to Ridgefield voters to ask for their support of the school bond measure on the April 26 ballot. Whether you have children in the Ridgefield School District or not, this is a measure worth your support. For hundreds of years, schools have been the center of communities, often housing community meetings, church services, sporting events, and of course educating its citizens — adults and children alike. When a school district fails, the community fails. In my opinion, growth will come to a grinding halt and property values are likely to plummet. What family with school-aged children wants to move to a district with so much overcrowding that their children in elementary school will be attending school on an AM/PM schedule and riding a school bus for what could be close to three hours each day? That’s quite a commute for a 6-year-old. Note: An AM/PM schedule would have half the students attending school from morning to early afternoon, with the other half attending from early afternoon to early evening. And with that, how many of our families will try for boundary exceptions or just move out of the district? How can our school district hope to keep, and attract, the high quality educators and support staff we are accustomed to?
I am under the impression that many people in the Ridgefield community are upset about things that have gone on in the past, leaving them to feel alienated and underrepresented. Some feel that the only way to get the attention of the community, school board, and superintendent is to vote against our schools. What’s that old adage? “Cut off your nose to spite your face.” A vote against the school bond is a vote against our community as a whole. There are several ways to be heard that won’t affect our families and property values the way not funding our schools will. Get involved, write letters, attend school board meetings or city council meetings and speak up. All of these things will get your opinions heard more clearly than just voting no. There is no way for anyone to know what you are upset about or what you would like to see changed if you don’t say something other than no.
Thank you for your time. Please vote yes on the Ridgefield school bond measure.
Donna Farnsworth, Ridgefield Board of Directors, District 4
