Dear Editor
This letter is in support of Prop K.I.D.S. My life’s profession has largely been education. I could tell you a great deal about teaching and learning, most of which you may not find all that interesting, but the one thing that is most obvious are the changes that have occurred in instructional practices over the last decades and the changes we will see in the future.
The way that we learned in the past does not work in today’s classrooms. The reasons for this are varied, but in short, the methods that served us well for the jobs we took won’t work because the jobs either look very different today or they simply don’t exist. We are teaching, training, and educating students for future jobs, their futures.
We are coming up on a year since a tornado hit D#32’s campus. It doesn’t feel all that long ago that the Feb. 28, 2017, tornado damaged or destroyed more than 100 properties across Perry County. In March of that year, I was hired by Catholic Charities as a Disaster Case Manager. My job was to work with property owners and assist with their recoveries. My strongest memory of that year is how much support (prayer, money, supplies, labor, facilities, etc.) came in to help in the rebuilding process. The donations were so great that managing them became a task in itself.
Our public high school is our largest community family, and they are in need of our help. Insurance is almost never adequate to cover what was lost, let alone build for the needs of today. This .41 tax levy, for the next 19 years, will not only build what we need but also provide flexibility for the future. We don’t want a high school frozen in time that cannot adapt to the demands of our world. The children of this community, no matter where they go to school, benefit from strong instructional programs provided in safe environments.
Unlike 2017, they don’t need you walking fields to pick up debris, donating canned goods and hygiene products or finding totes and helping to pack homes that were partially destroyed. The need is financial and they will do the work. I have faith in our school board and district administration to make the best use of these increased funds to create the space where our teachers and students can do their best work.
Let’s pass Proposition K.I.D.S. and make Perryville High School something that makes families and businesses want to relocate to Perryville. The generosity you demonstrated in ’17 is needed again. I hope you will join me in voting YES on April 7.
Jennifer L. Streiler, Perryville
