Opinion and Commentary By Donna Westfall – June 11, 2024 Here we thought things couldn't possibly get any worse. What is the school board thinking? But first let's look at the people who voted 5-0 on the School Board's $59 Million School Bond: Frank Magarino (District 3), Charlaine Mazzei (Distict 4), Don McArthur (District 1), Abbie Crist (District 2) and Michael Greer (District 5). Keep in mind that Magarino and Mazzei's term ends in 2024. Let's talk about affordable housing. No! Let's talk about unaffordable housing. Remember the $25 Million School Bond? We still owe over $40 million on that one. Every time taxes increase property owners bill, don't you think those that put their places up for rent will increase the rent and pass it on to tenants? And at 10% rent increase allowed, let's say that someone paying $1200/month for rent would then see an additional $120 added to their bill. How many families can afford that? So in addition to the 1% City and County sales tax, and an anticipated raise in sewer rates, continual higher gas and food prices what do you think will ultimately happen in this town? The prognosis does not look good. PLUS. Here's the bigger point. Our educational system leaves a lot to be desired. The last board meeting held June 6, much ado was made about interventions. And, there was nothing listed on the agenda about the $59 million school bond. How do they get away with that? I sincerely hope there are other people in the community ready to take on the task of running for school board. We definitely need a change. The tag line for Del Norte Unified School District is "Equipping Students for Success." If we were to track the students graduated these days from our public schools, I would imagine that many would not be considered successful. If the emphasis at meetings is "intervention" instead of "education" one could imagine that the 60% of families currently on some sort of public assistance will only grow in the coming years. In my opinion, that is not success. Back in 1999-2000 there were over 4,800 students. These days it's down significantly and dropping. Parents are pulling their kids out of public schools. Who can blame them? Sure it's nice to have buildings that are safe and secure, not leaking, and warm in the winter. How many of the school buildings are really in bad shape? Plus the Citizen's Oversight Committee members mostly rubber stamp everything. So the taxpayers really have no idea if their money is being well spent.. Public education is equipping students to be on the government dole. That is NOT success. Something has to change. Let's start with defeating the $59 Million School Bond and end with electing school board members that want "EDUCATION" to be the priority and significantly better in our County.