Dear Superintendent Carrizosa.
I am a mom, a PTA leader, a community member, a BAFA volunteer and committee member, and a Learning professional. My family has been a part of the Burbank community for 10 1/2 years, and my daughter is a sixth grader at Jordan Middle School, having begun her years of formal education at Roosevelt Elementary. I consider us very lucky indeed to have landed here - for which Disney deserves some credit - and I am proud to be a member of this community.
I am writing to you today as a human being who is passionately dedicated to education. I believe that education is powerful beyond measure, and sits at the root of all things on this planet of ours. It has the power to flourish our communities or destroy them, and we see the results of this time and time again.
On Saturday, February 2nd, my husband, my 11 year old daughter, and I attended the PTA-hosted Community Forum on Public Education. Listening to Mary Perry, Deputy Director of EdSource and amazing human being, speak about the realities of the funding of education in California was.....well, to say "eye-opening" would be a dire understatement. It was in fact earth shattering. It was terrifying. It was one hell of a wake up call. How anyone could have left that room without the will and desire to scream the truth from the rooftops completely eludes me. As horrendous as the state of education is today, at this moment, it pales in comparison to where we are headed.
This morning, I sat on a phone call with the leaders of Educate Our State as they discussed strategy to support Governor Brown's budget, specifically with regard to the temporary tax extensions. Mary had shared this information with us in the February meeting. I am embarrassed to say that, intelligent and aware as I may think I am, I fear I might have been one of those people decrying the Governor's efforts to "raise taxes" had I not been in the February 2nd meeting. It can be plain humbling to discover what you DON'T know, especially about the things that matter.
As of this morning's call, our legislature is five votes short of reaching the 2/3 approval required to put the Governor's initiative on a public ballot, and the early March deadline is rapidly approaching. I believe that we have a responsibility to get the word out, and to support the Governor's efforts. While this is a temporary measure, and perhaps serves merely to duck tape our walls together for a bit longer, without it, we are spiraling downward and the grade is steep beyond measure.
Please, Superintendent Carrizosa, visit the Educate Our State site, and look at what they're trying to do. Please consider getting this word out to as wide a net as you are able to cast. At the very least, please send your own letters to the legislature. They make it very easy, providing online templates. Your leadership has been clearly established here in Burbank, and you should know that those advocates of education in this community speak of you with only the highest regard and respect. They in fact genuinely like you, appreciate your presence in our community, and have great optimism about your contributions.
If there is anything I can personally do in our city to help YOU spread the word, please let me know. In the meantime, I am reaching out to our PTA and my local parents, Facebooking, Tweeting, blogging, and perhaps even ranting on occasion. I may even resort to flyers on doors this weekend. As "green" as that may not be, I suppose it's still one of the best ways to get information in front of people's eyes.
This is important. And difficult. Please help. I thank you, sir, for listening.
Most respectfully,
Karen Hohman Almeida
mother of Isabella Hohman Almeida
Burbank
http://www.congressweb.com/cweb2/index.cfm/siteid/educateourstate
www.educateourstate.org
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