by Stacy Winstryg
Did you know that as U.S. citizens, we have dual citizenship? Not only are we citizens of the U.S., but we are also citizens of Arizona. And, so are our kids! Which means that in addition to their constitutional rights, our kids have an additional right bestowed upon them by the State of Arizona’s constitution that says they are entitled to a free, uniform, and ADEQUATE public education.
The Vail Parent Network continues to actively advocate for our children and teachers in order to make that a reality. One way we are doing this is by encouraging parents, grandparents, and community members to reach out to their legislators and let them know that it is time that we start to re-invest in education in Arizona. With a surplus of $600 million, the state has the means and the responsibility to do so. As citizens of Arizona, it is our duty to hold our legislators responsible to uphold the state’s constitution and to provide a quality public education for our children. We do this by paying our teachers a respectable salary, supplying adequate classroom resources, and providing ample school space to educate our kids.
We recently learned that the School Board Facility (SBF) wants to change the way districts qualify for a new school. They want to count areas like libraries, cafeterias, and gyms as classroom space. This will push back Vail qualifying for a new high school by three years or more. This is just one more way our elected officials continue to ignore their responsibility to adequately fund education. This passes the buck to local tax payers causing us to call for bonds in order to pay for new schools to alleviate over-crowding in our rapidly growing district. This is simply unacceptable.
We encourage all residents of Vail and Arizona to become involved in the legislative process. We invite you to get to know your current candidates and how they feel about issues like education. And then get out there and VOTE! The Vail Parent Network will be holding a Town Hall with LD14 candidates on August 2nd at 6pm at Empire High School. Come meet the candidates! We hope to see you there! Thank you for actively engaging in the future of Arizona and our children.