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President's Page

March 7, 2010

SMETA President, Phyllis Harris made the following statement at
the March 4, SMFC School Board Meeting:

On behalf of our members, I would like to begin my talk with a few thank-yous. First, I thank the Board for its foresight and courage on Nov. 19, when it made the decision to place a measure before the voters that would renew and expand the expiring Parcel Tax…definitely a difficult proposition during these perilous economic and political times.

I would like to thank all the members of the Measure A Campaign committee for their willingness to take on roles that allowed us to navigate a complex campaign strategy, which included financing, endorsements, voter contact and fun. I want to thank the hundreds of callers…certificated, classified, principals, D.O. staff, parents and students for their enthusiasm, energy, and powers of persuasion during the 33 evenings of phone-banking. It was an unforgettable experience to be in a room of callers, winning votes for our children. And, most importantly, I want to thank the voters of San Mateo and Foster City for their recognition that a community’s greatest resource is it children; and their willingness to, once again, support quality education in our schools.

As you are no-doubt aware, today, March 4, has been a momentous day for education. Today is the day that thousands of people, from pre-school teachers to college professors, decided to “Stand Up for Schools”. All over America educators and parents and students have joined together in a national day of action to speak out against the budget cuts to public education that are decimating learning opportunities for an entire generation of children.

We began that conversation with our community at 4:00 p.m. on January 3, when we made our first Measure A phone call. We continued the conversation in the hundreds of flyers and mailers distributed, letters to the editor written, Facebook comments posted, and thousands of additional phone calls made. We raised the alarm and our voters responded. We are among the fortunate.

Other communities, however, are not as lucky. They are unable to raise taxes locally and are dependent on state budgets to fund their schools. It is incumbent on all of us, on behalf of all children, to continue to carry the message sent today…we must “stand up to” those who feel it is okay to cut education budgets. We must “stand up for” our schools and argue for adequate funding. Today is just the beginning of that fight.

To read the entire "Highlights of the March 4, SMFC School Board Meeting, click here.

 

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