Yes on Proposition R
I am the principal at James Dukes Elementary School and I have seen first-hand how technology can increase learning opportunities with our students. After a year of fundraising with the PTA, James Dukes Elementary School was able to purchase 30 devices for our students to use in our technology room. As the students rotate through the technology room, you can hear squeals of excitement and joy as they collaborate and create projects with their friends.
This experience has really highlighted a form of engagement that only technology can bring into the classroom. Help our school expand our technology dreams into a reality in every classroom by voting Yes on Proposition R.
Proposition R will ensure that James Dukes Elementary School will be able to update our Internet access and networks, purchase up-to-date technology, and provide our students with 21st Century learning opportunities. Help Ramona students today by voting Yes on Proposition R on Nov. 6.
Pauline Leavitt
Principal
James Dukes
Elementary School
Ramona is a one-of-a-kind place; we are like absolutely no other community. There’s no question that “Down the Hill” has got nothin’ on us. Here in Ramona, we pay attention to our neighbors’ lives, we take care of each other, we fix things when they’re broken, and we find time to do the things in life that matter. And make no mistake; Ramona’s schools are a direct reflection of who we are and what we value.
Ramona isn’t just where my house is. It’s where I live.
On Nov. 6th, it’s time for us to step up and fight for what we value about our town. Every unified school district in San Diego County has approved a local bond for its schools except ours. My son deserves to learn in classrooms that are safe. My nieces and nephews deserve to learn in classrooms where the technology supports their learning instead of hindering it.
Our children deserve to learn in schools that reflect Ramona’s unique values and character.
A community that values success invests in its schools. A community that values forward thinking invests in its schools. A community that values each other invests in its schools. For me, it’s a no-brainer: absolutely, without a doubt, Yes on Prop. R—for our kids and for our community.
Melissa Cobian
Ramona
As a longtime Ramona resident and parent of four kids in our local schools, I am urging all local voters to support Proposition R in next week’s election. Having kids at Ramona Elementary, Olive Peirce, and Ramona High, my wife and I see the obvious need to replace portable buildings that can no longer house students, to replace air conditioning units, roofs, and windows that are way past their prime, and to provide my children with the same technology opportunities as kids have in schools down the hill.
Please support my family and our entire community by voting Yes on Proposition R.
Michael Pierce
Ramona
Next Tuesday presents an exciting time for our entire community. As one of the school district’s two elementary school pilot teachers for 21st Century Learning and a mother of two children in our local schools, we can finally give all Ramona students the same opportunities being afforded to students in many other states, cities, and schools.
By voting for Proposition R, each of our 10 local schools will be equipped with a wireless infrastructure capable of supporting modern wireless technology — allowing our students for the first time to truly begin preparation for careers in a quickly changing world. I know firsthand how much more sixth-grade students can achieve by merging basic skills with modern technology as evidenced by extraordinary gains in test scores over a one-year period in my pilot program last year at Mt. Woodson.
But 21st Century skills and technology need to be in the hands of every student in every classroom throughout Ramona. Supporting our local school board’s proposal on Nov. 6 can make that happen. On behalf of our children at every grade level and every school in Ramona — bring modern skills and technology to all Ramona students by voting Yes on Proposition R.
Leslie Wilson
Ramona
As principal for the past 19 years of Ramona’s only comprehensive middle school, I was thrilled last spring to lead the Olive Pierce staff and parent community to earn recognition as one of just four middle schools in California to be recognized as a state and national “School to Watch.”
But as I celebrate the fact that our school can do so much with so little, I must also remind our community that our roofs, air conditioning, lighting, athletic fields, energy use, carpet, technology stations, and painted surfaces are in deplorable condition. I have had the great fortune the past few years of leading professional development for school principals all across the state — and my eyes weep when I visit the schools of the majority of the principals I am asked to train.
Middle schools in other communities have fresh paint, they have energy-efficient utilities, they either have computer labs with equipment which is not obsolete or they have mobile technology in the hands of every student — or both.
With the extraordinarily talented teaching staff currently in place at OPMS, just imagine what our nearly 1,000 students could really achieve if we had classrooms which didn’t leak, PE equipment which didn’t break down, and play surfaces for physical training which was actually safe.
I implore all Ramona residents to do the right thing on Nov. 6 — reward our students and teachers with 21st Century materials and buildings which prepare our children for success in the next several decades. Give our children a chance to compete with students down the hill. And give our parents a chance to think big about the future opportunities for their children. Vote Yes on Proposition R.
Linda Solis
Principal
Olive Peirce
Middle School
Dear Fellow Citizens,
Voting Yes on Prop. R for the Ramona school district is a win/win in my opinion for several reasons. When school facilities and improvements are implemented, students and the community benefit for many years.
And if you do not have kids in school and you are a property owner, you also benefit from increased home value. Ask any Ramona realtor if better schools improve home values and sales. They will confirm that.
Finally, this type of school bond keeps all of the benefit in Ramona with no pass through for the state or administration. I know it’s tough to add some cost; but as a 30-year Ramona resident and homeowner with no kids in school any longer, I still believe the benefits of voting yes on Prop. R are a rare win/win for kids and homeowners.
Stephen Halfaker
Ramona
I am a parent of two children in the Ramona school district and an alumni of OPMS and RHS. I have seen amazing things happen during my school years and since. I am in support of Prop. R to see our schools continue to achieve awards and recognition. In order to continue moving forward you too should support Prop. R to improve our technology in the classrooms and keep our school up to date.
Thank you.
Molly Whalen
Ramona
For the past eight years, I have served Ramona’s schools as a mechanic, ensuring that our local buses, maintenance vehicles, vans, golf carts, and lawn mowers continue to serve our 6,000 students and our employees. On a daily basis, I get to work with some of the most competent and kid-centered employees I have ever known. What makes my job tough, however, is to watch over time how the lack of proper funding has allowed our local facilities, equipment, vehicles -- and school buildings -- to continue to deteriorate with age. Why can’t our repair facilities be upgraded? Why can’t we replace aging equipment so that our employees can serve our students and parents better? Why can’t our schools be renovated and modernized so that Ramona children can have the same opportunities as kids down the hill in modern schools which are safe, clean, and upgraded with new technology? Please take a serious look at Proposition R on next week’s ballot and vote YES! I have been walking the streets of our community and making phone calls at night talking with many of our residents about all the reasons that a school bond finally makes sense in Ramona. This is finally the right time and the right measure to support. Please vote YES on R!
Sonny Adams
Lakeside
I am a longtime resident in Ramona, I have several children enrolled in our local schools, and am pleased to serve Ramona Elementary as a veteran member of its front office staff. I can tell you that my heart is so full of joy when I think of the many tremendous accomplishments of our Ramona students (both English and Spanish speakers) who achieve so much in our community.
But when I look at the deteriorating conditions of our schools’ walls, roofs, electrical, fields, and playgrounds, my heart breaks. Down the hill, school districts pass school bonds and turn their older schools into places where parents and residents have pride in their schools — and where students have an even playing field in competing for college and jobs. But in Ramona, our children don’t have state-of-the-art technology, modern athletic facilities, supportive arts facilities, and other buildings which help students learn.
Please take a risk for our children and our community. Let’s make Nov. 6 a date we can all remember and the first time that Ramona has ever passed a school bond to celebrate our children.
Let’s show the rest of the county that we care as much about our schools as they do. Vote Yes on Proposition R.
Susana Abarca
Ramona