Bailing Out Los Angeles Children By Gabriel Buelna
If you are planning to vote tomorrow, you have probably never seen so many diverse initiatives. From high speed rail, to anti-gay marriage rhetoric, we are being asked to decide on a lot that will affect us for generations. While this election season is historic at the presidential and state levels, at the local level, generation changing initiatives are in front of us. This is why I respectfully request thirty seconds of your time to discuss Measure Q.
Measure Q asks voters for an additional $7 billion in bonds for the renovation, modernization, construction, and expansion of LAUSD school facilities. Since 1997, 72 new schools have been constructed, with another 58 slated for construction. While this is an important step for the education of our children, it is important to remember that for decades, no new schools were built within LAUSD.
For decades, hundreds of thousands of children were forced to take busses to schools far from their homes. These children had their lives disrupted as they spent hours a day staring out bus windows, wondering why nobody cared enough to build quality schools in their neighborhoods. In fact, this is and was tantamount to child abuse. This new bond keeps our children off buses and where they belong – in quality schools close to home.
We all like oversight and Measure Q has it. This initiative will have a Citizens’ Oversight Committee which will include the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and taxpayers who are concerned about our children’s schools. The reality is that none of us wants to pay more and we know our government can do better. Some of us might be looking at our shrinking 401K plans and saying “enough is enough.” We all know the economy is getting worse and we don’t know what will happen. That being said, every single one of us believes in the universal truth that our children are the future. When our children have better education, we all have a better future.
This is why in a time of economic uncertainty and hardship, I ask you to support a better future for our children. Vote for better schools and better education for our children. Vote “Yes” on Measure Q.
Gabriel Buelna, Ph.D., MSW is Executive Director of Plaza Community Services in East Los Angeles and a faculty member in the Chicana/o Studies Department at Cal State Northridge. You can visit his blog at http://simplesend.com/simple/t.asp?S=264&ID=22019&NL=3130&N=29337&SI=1677510&URL=http://gabrielbuelna.blogspot.com/
If you are planning to vote tomorrow, you have probably never seen so many diverse initiatives. From high speed rail, to anti-gay marriage rhetoric, we are being asked to decide on a lot that will affect us for generations. While this election season is historic at the presidential and state levels, at the local level, generation changing initiatives are in front of us. This is why I respectfully request thirty seconds of your time to discuss Measure Q.
Measure Q asks voters for an additional $7 billion in bonds for the renovation, modernization, construction, and expansion of LAUSD school facilities. Since 1997, 72 new schools have been constructed, with another 58 slated for construction. While this is an important step for the education of our children, it is important to remember that for decades, no new schools were built within LAUSD.
For decades, hundreds of thousands of children were forced to take busses to schools far from their homes. These children had their lives disrupted as they spent hours a day staring out bus windows, wondering why nobody cared enough to build quality schools in their neighborhoods. In fact, this is and was tantamount to child abuse. This new bond keeps our children off buses and where they belong – in quality schools close to home.
We all like oversight and Measure Q has it. This initiative will have a Citizens’ Oversight Committee which will include the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and taxpayers who are concerned about our children’s schools. The reality is that none of us wants to pay more and we know our government can do better. Some of us might be looking at our shrinking 401K plans and saying “enough is enough.” We all know the economy is getting worse and we don’t know what will happen. That being said, every single one of us believes in the universal truth that our children are the future. When our children have better education, we all have a better future.
This is why in a time of economic uncertainty and hardship, I ask you to support a better future for our children. Vote for better schools and better education for our children. Vote “Yes” on Measure Q.
Gabriel Buelna, Ph.D., MSW is Executive Director of Plaza Community Services in East Los Angeles and a faculty member in the Chicana/o Studies Department at Cal State Northridge. You can visit his blog at http://simplesend.com/simple/t.asp?S=264&ID=22019&NL=3130&N=29337&SI=1677510&URL=http://gabrielbuelna.blogspot.com/
