One thing I've learned is that parents will do ANYTHING for their children...they would lay down and die if it came down to it...We love them...and we love them FIERCELY...with a love that is sometimes scary for the power it encompasses. We want what is best for them and sometimes we believe that what is best for them is what makes them happy, and makes us happy...and sometimes that IS true...and sometimes we are surprised by something completely different.
We had a redistricting meeting on Monday night and I was nervous. I was nervous because I don't want to be emotional. I could go on and on about the benefits of proximity of a school...but then I could argue the benefits of feeders and keeping kids together...and when those two things collide from opposite ends of the spectrum, you've just got these passionate ideas...all fighting for the same thing: we want what we think is best for our kids.
My husband put things into perspective for me, as he typically does. He came to the meeting as well, meeting me there. He sat in his car for 10 minutes prior to the meeting praying, asking for some sort of peace that he could tap into. And God gave him something...
There is a verse that says that "He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." That doesn't mean that we get what we want. That doesn't even mean that life will be easy. But, it does guarantee that He will do more in the lives of my daughters, in my life, in the life of my husband than I could even imagine.
Right now, none of the options for the redistricting in our community are great. None of them fix the entire problem and there is a guarantee that parents somewhere will be mad. And not only now, because I know that if we are able to provide the new high school for our students, MY daughters' schooling during their HS years will be interuppted as well...so it's two fold...It's here now and I know it's coming again in the near future.
For us, we care about the kids in our district, if we didn't we wouldn't be willing to encounter some significant tax increases for the foreseeable future. It has nothing to do with NOT caring about the kids. We live in one of the best districts in the STATE. No matter where they go to school, they will thrive. Not just because they'll attend a good school, but because their mom & dad will provide a safe haven home for them...one where we teach them how to deal with adversity, serve others, be confident in WHO they are, step out of their comfort zone & trust that they have not just their parents, but Someone who is with them 24/7.
For us, we care about the kids in our district, if we didn't we wouldn't be willing to encounter some significant tax increases for the foreseeable future. It has nothing to do with NOT caring about the kids. We live in one of the best districts in the STATE. No matter where they go to school, they will thrive. Not just because they'll attend a good school, but because their mom & dad will provide a safe haven home for them...one where we teach them how to deal with adversity, serve others, be confident in WHO they are, step out of their comfort zone & trust that they have not just their parents, but Someone who is with them 24/7.
Right now it's down to the integrity of the administration. It's down to which option is the most fiscally sound...the one that does not incur MORE costs for our district, but infact, starts to reduce the unnecessary transportation costs (not to mention long bus rides) for the district. We're going to need it for the future...
This area is BOOMING with people. We can't afford, as residents, to wastefully spend money...to unnecessarily throw money in areas in which we have some control. For a school district, that often means transportation.
So here's what we know:
*All options, as per the superintendent, follow the guidelines
*NONE of the options are great, nor do they fix the entire problem long term
*According to the principals of the schools, we can't wait any longer, there MUST be relief for the overcrowding
Therefore, the logical "tiebreaker" in all of this...if we take the emotion out of it...if we look long term for the kids that aren't even in school yet...for their futures...it comes down to which option is the most fiscally responsible?
If you are in our district, you'll have access to the survey and to the presentation of the options. If you look at Option D, (it's the last option, on the last page of the presentation of options) If you go alllll the way down to the bottom of the Option D page, at the very bottom box...you'll see that the actual committee members, or more specifically DeJong-Richter, wrote these words, "...result in the largest reduction in transportation costs and times compared to the other scenarios"
Right there in black and white they conclude that THIS OPTION D is the option that is the most fiscally responsible...there isn't a perfect answer, or fix...noone will be 100% happy...but at least, at the end of the day, we can say that all the plans follow guidelines, give our kids a great education...but this is the ONLY one, as per the committee that actually REDUCES the costs to our resident tax-payers!!!
There are spaces in the survey to express what we like or dislike about the options. I hope our community will communicate to our leadership that we value our students so much that we want to prepare for their future with costs that we can control. It's incredibly difficult because we have not been presented with a 100% fix. Therefore, at this point, I believe our best course of action is to make the most fiscally sound choices.
Right there in black and white they conclude that THIS OPTION D is the option that is the most fiscally responsible...there isn't a perfect answer, or fix...noone will be 100% happy...but at least, at the end of the day, we can say that all the plans follow guidelines, give our kids a great education...but this is the ONLY one, as per the committee that actually REDUCES the costs to our resident tax-payers!!!
There are spaces in the survey to express what we like or dislike about the options. I hope our community will communicate to our leadership that we value our students so much that we want to prepare for their future with costs that we can control. It's incredibly difficult because we have not been presented with a 100% fix. Therefore, at this point, I believe our best course of action is to make the most fiscally sound choices.
I'm "okay" with moving my kids...don't get me wrong, I don't like it, but, IF I know that come March, my moneys are being spent wisely, preparing for a future for the students of this district...then I can get on board with the new levy and I can put my hope in the guarantee that God has something prepared that I can't even imagine yet.
