Vote Yes on MCCSC Referendum

Every once in a long while, voters are given the opportunity to have a truly positive impact on how their local communities work. There are few greater examples of this sort of opportunity than the Monroe County Community School Corporation funding referendum.

Everyone in Monroe County who cares about the quality of education in our schools should vote yes on Public Question #2, the  MCCSC funding referendum.

School corporations across the state have had to make impossible decisions about what basic programs to fund since the state government cut funding to local schools
and communities in the last budget.

The MCCSC referendum would raise property taxes in Monroe County by 14 cents for every $100 of assessed property value. While this is, in fact, a tax increase, even traditional opponents of higher taxes should be in favor of this proposal.

Because of the budget cuts by the state government and the resulting decreased revenue in local governments, truly drastic changes have had to be made in MCCSC.

Budget cuts have resulted in the elimination of 71 teaching positions in our local schools. That’s 71 fewer teachers and assistants that are present for local students. Voting yes on Public Question #2 will fix that.

All grade levels’ class sizes have had to increase because of budget cuts. That means local students get less individual attention from their teachers and have fewer people to learn from. Voting yes on Public Question #2 will stop the lay-offs of teachers and allow teachers that have been laid-off to be rehired.

The number of programs for at-risk students — the students most likely to drop out or to fail to succeed academically — has been cut dramatically because of the cuts.

Voting yes on Public Question #2 will reinstate programs for at-risk youth in our community.

Extra-curricular programs have been cut or eliminated all-together because of the cuts. Programs such as music education, arts classes, after-school sports programs, middle and high school sports teams, student government support, academic competitions and theater programs have all received cuts. Voting yes on Public Question #2 will allow local schools to reinstate funding for excellent after-school programs and extra-curricular activities.

And if this referendum fails, even more drastic cuts will have to happen for the schools to provide even the most basic, standard services. School district librarians will have to be fired, classes will have to be disturbingly larger, more teachers will need to be fired and the few extra-curricular activities that still receive funding will also have to be cut. Voting yes on Public Question #2 will prevent all of that.

For the children of our community, vote yes on Public Question #2. We don’t get many opportunities to have a direct say in the future of our communities. This is one of the few.

Campaign site

Staff Vote:
Yes (9 votes)
No (4 votes)