Dear Editor,

I am writing to express my thoughts on the Deer Park School District bond and levy that will be voted on February 13th. I strongly urge the citizens of Deer Park to vote yes for both propositions.

Here is a little of my reasoning. The community is growing rapidly, and the district needs to expand and provide more space for students. I recently attended one of the community tours of the Arcadia building and transportation facility, which highlighted the need to move our third graders and preschoolers out of the aging portables and into a safe and secure school building.

Furthermore, I noticed that the gym space is overcrowded for half of the day. They divide the gym in half each day to accommodate lunch for 160 plus kids for three rounds, and then the other half is used for PE with two classes. In my opinion, this is not sufficient space for anyone who wants to have lunch or participate in PE.

I understand now that the transportation facility is too small for the district’s needs. The working conditions are unacceptable, even for me and likely most people. For instance, the employees must wash their dishes in the bathroom sink and pump water out of the garage due to old pipes. Furthermore, it’s difficult to fit all the buses in the space and provide adequate employee parking.

For those who have been a part of our community for a while now, the previous bond had a rate of over $3 per $100,000. However, the current bond proposal seeks less than that. Since the previous bond was approved, I have personally witnessed that the tax rate for schools has decreased as more and more houses are built. This means that the burden of the bond is shared by the community, so the more people who contribute, the less everyone has to pay.

Please consider voting ‘yes’ for the district. Although I don’t have children in the district, I do have grandchildren. I believe it’s my responsibility to support the next generation, just as the previous generation supported my children. Let’s work together to ensure a bright future for all children in the community.

Tim Verzal
Mayor

Reprinted with permission.
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