On July 20, 1969, like millions of people around the world, I watched in awe as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon for the first time. I was a wide-eyed little girl who couldn’t take her eyes off the TV screen, completely mesmerized by what I saw. That was the day my dream of becoming an astronaut and flying in space began.
Growing up with a father serving in the Navy meant moving a lot. During my K-12 education in public schools, I lived in six different communities across this country. I will be forever grateful that the residents of those communities were willing to invest in me, a starry-eyed kid in pursuit of a big dream. They chose to tax themselves to ensure that I could attend good schools and have access to an education and opportunities that would help me not only pursue my dream, but fulfill it as well.
I’m a huge supporter of education because I know from my own experience that it has the power to change lives. So it might surprise you to hear that I voted “no” on the 2014 school bond. As a taxpayer, I didn’t think it was fiscally responsible to vote for a plan that lacked details. That’s why I joined the Bond Task Force in October 2017. My goal was to work with the other 85 volunteers from the school district community to develop a plan with enough detail that voters would know how their tax dollars would be spent.
Is the proposed school bond a perfect plan? No, it isn’t. Did every task force member get exactly what he or she wanted? No, they did not. Did the task force have a crystal ball to know exactly how much taxpayers would be willing to pay? No, we did not. But for five months, we worked diligently to put together the best plan possible that would balance the needs of the community, the Ferndale School District and its students.
I also joined the Bond Task Force because I want kids across the district to have access to the very same opportunities my communities gave me so they, too, can pursue their dreams. Like the residents of the communities I grew up in, I firmly believe an investment in our kids is an investment in our community and its future.
Finally, if I could, I would have invited every member of those communities to my four space shuttle launches as a way to say “thank you” for believing and investing in me. Most residents in those communities didn’t know me, that starry-eyed kid with a big dream. But they were still willing to invest in me because they felt it was important to provide every child in their community with the education and opportunities that would help them become successful adults. Let’s do the same for the 4,700 students in the Ferndale School District and the thousands who will follow them. Please join me in voting to “Approve” the school bond.
Wendy Lawrence
Ferndale
Letters to the Editor submitted to My Ferndale News are the opinions of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher of My Ferndale News.