School Bond Measure V

I am an eighth-grader at Redwood Middle School and I feel strongly about Measure V. For around $24 per year, per household, you can make some dramatic changes at our schools.

First of all, here at Redwood not all classes have air-conditioning. We have to endure some scorching temperatures. One of the worst is our consumer ed room, which can easily reach 100 degrees on a hot day, and they have to pass out ice cubes to suck on.

Second, with all the rain this year, some of our locker halls have been flooding. Money from the bond would be used to improve the drains and keep our halls from becoming swimming pools.

Third, we have ancient computers. We’re supposed to be learning useful computer skills, but what good is it to know how to use an obsolete computer? Although the bond would not directly purchase computers, it would free up district funds, which could then be spent on state-of-the-art computers.

Although I won’t be around to enjoy the benefits of Measure V at Redwood, I’ll see them in the next four years at Thousand Oaks High School. So you see, every student in the district would benefit from the passing of this bond.

ZACH ELSEA

Thousand Oaks

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The photos of leaking roofs dripping into buckets and peeling paint were supposed to invoke enough sympathy for us to guarantee a 30-year, $97-million loan. Instead, I found myself very concerned that our school board has let us down by not properly maintaining the district assets entrusted to its care.

Buildings made of concrete, steel and glass should last hundreds of years if properly maintained. By contrast, when roofs are allowed to leak and peeling paint exposes raw wood, then the life span of these structures is dramatically reduced.

The district says there are not enough funds to repair our schools; a visit to Thousand Oaks or Newbury Park high schools shows a different story. Right next to these schools are new performing arts centers being built at a cost of $2 million each. What backward logic would allocate $4 million for unnecessary facilities when our schools need immediate repairs?

The school board is responsible for determining the financial needs of our district and budgeting according to those needs. By not budgeting adequate funds for maintenance, these administrators are encouraging more costly repairs in the future.

Proponents of Measure V are right about one thing. Our children are the future and deserve a safe and clean environment to reach their full potential. I want to support our children and schools but I don’t want to borrow $97 million for a district that demonstrates poor judgment when budgeting for our future.

Please do not leave our children a legacy of debt. Vote no and demand that the school board reduce the bond amount and add assurances that our schools will never again be neglected.

TOM HOLLOW

Newbury Park

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As a parent volunteer for children in regular and special education classrooms, I have seen the effect that classroom atmosphere has on learning. Clearly, when temperatures in the classrooms surpass 100 degrees (this is no exaggeration, and it’s not an unusual occurrence in the first and last months of school) student motivation is critically low.

Those of us in the former Timber School District will notice that a 30-year debt is retiring this year; what better time to adopt a new bond?

It is my opinion that the positives far outweigh the negatives, and I urge the community to support Measure V on April 14.

SHARI FEREZY

Thousand Oaks