Sedona AZ (October 22, 2013) – The following is a letter to the SedonaEye.com editor from Suzette Orah-Bruhn in opposition to the education budget override request:
School Budget (increase) Override is not the solution!
We all agree on one thing! Proper education is most important. Lack of good education creates ignorance and prejudice. This in turn creates war and terrorism.
I also understand the need for funds to support teachers and better education.
However, I do question the need to ask the already overburdened Sedona taxpayers with another tax increase to get this funding. If we vote yes without seeing the full picture, we are voting for additional taxes. The school has avenues to fund itself, IF it operates like a business, with correct priorities in place.
Sedona Red Rock High School and its Performing Arts Center cost million of taxpayer dollars to build and loses $50K per year
Sedona Performing Arts Center cost millions of dollars to build and it loses $50,000 a year! SPAC belongs to the Sedona School district. If there were a professional management in place and a business plan, the income would have paid for better teachers. Then, the school would not have been in an unfortunate ‘begging’ situation from the taxpayers. SPAC’s successful and PROFITABLE operation will also bring in additional income to our city of Sedona: the hotels, restaurants and stores will all benefit, in high season as well as low season, when we need the business. It’s a win-win situation.
Remember: We only have 490 students! That’s all. Our taxes for the school are already over 40% of our total tax bill. That’s a lot.
This is a very emotional issue. We need to step back a little, see the reality of the situation, find better solutions, and not allow our emotions cloud our decisions.
We all want to have a good school system in Sedona. However, asking for more taxes to support an operation that if managed correctly, could support itself, is not correct.
Before I vote yes on the override, I would like to see priorities in expenditures. I would like to see the willingness to self-fund at least by operating SPAC professionally and successfully. I would then be the first one to say CONGRATULATIONS to a perfectly managed and operated high school district!
Suzette Orah-Bruhn Sedona AZ
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i heard yes vote people got FREE newspaper & tv ads
Suzette makes valid points & I’ll vote no this time. I’ve been highly dissatisfied with the caliber of the front offices of two schools that my children attend. I hear the scuttlebutt as a parent volunteer. I know there is a lot of excesses that need trimming.
The vote yes collaboration is failing to parlay excess expenditures into votes. Facts seem to undermine the vote yes agenda. Is it time to reconsider the gameplan S30?
The turning point for me was seeing small children standing on corners with “vote yes” signs. If this is what they are being taught, why do they need more money? They probably can obtain cardboard for signs from the recycling place. Spray paint? Maybe from their older classmates who have learned the art of graffiti. My vote = no!
Hi Suzanne, Who was driving the neat old car with the Vote No on the override information? It reminded me that I had an early ballot then went home filled it out & dropped it in the PO. Here’s a no vote for that Halloween fun car reminder from this voter. Deb, VOC
Deb:
The neat old Model-T Ford is owned by oft-commentor Mike Schroeder.
Neat car Mike Schroeder.
Hey friends – Lets please remember to ask all our friends and neighbors to VOTE NO on the school Override election. Ballots are due NOW….i.e.: if you mail your ballot by Saturday (Nov 2) your early ballot will get to Prescott by Monday and your vote will be counted. You can also take your ballot to Sedona City Hall by Tuesday – November 5th – and it will be counted.
Please Vote NO so the School District Board and Superintendent are forced to become more financially prudent and responsible.
Why I voted YES on the Sedona School Budget Override – America was founded by diversity. In that diversity brought strength to our country that for many years was unparalleled in our world. Our ability to draw ideas and ways of thinking from many different cultures was what made us so great. Now here we sit fast forward into the future and I watch as the downfall of our country has become our own arrogance. Those who believe, “Our way is the best way, the only way. Close the borders… they have nothing to offer us superior Americans.”
Some of you think the passing of the budget override should be quashed. I’ve heard others state they never had art or music in school? They never had P.E.? That kids only need to learn the golden rules? Shame on you! There I said it.
Do you wonder why America is so far behind? It is because of close minded, selfish, look out for yourself and screw the rest of the world mentalities of some of the very citizens that inhabit it. God forbid another country might be onto something and it’s different than how we “Americans” do it. Or that someone in our beloved land doesn’t think the same as you do. Don’t get me wrong, my blood runs red, white and blue but we have to start thinking outside of the box here.
Since the budget override did not pass last time (by less than 40 votes) I have watched as the quality of my daughter’s education has been affected. The arts have been cut and cut until they are basically gone. These are our future doctors, artists and musicians. Look what cut backs have gotten us. (Do we really need more outstanding artists like Miley?) Did Einstein learn the golden rules? Nope. Some of our greatest minds ever think with the artistic side of their brains.
Let’s take a moment and focus on the number one primary education system in the world folks. Finland. Yup, you heard it right I said Finland.
“Music, visual arts, and crafts education is compulsory for students up to age 16 in Finland, as part of an effort to promote creativity and problem-solving skills and boost learning in other subject areas.
The arts develop skills in learning, concentration and team work. The arts are an effective tool for learning across other subject disciplines Young people who are able to express themselves through the arts, can use the arts to solve personal and social issues.”
And how about Japan which is in the top five? Seventh graders in Japan have 1/3rd of their week spent on the arts, music, homemaking, and educational field trips.
So I say to you all who have not voted to walk those ballots into city hall. Vote “YES” for the budget override in Sedona and all those other school districts out there. Keep our kids learning on ALL levels! Open your minds folks and stop seeing the issues with blinders on.