Ramona school bond naysayer Jay Dyer apparently thinks that the effect of denying school bonds can only make things better, what I call negative cause and effect. The cause is the denial of school bonds because the school system is deficient in some way. The effect is the school system continues to be deficient in some way, due to insufficient funds, a downward cycle.
How many times can we repeat this downward cycle and not realize that denying school bonds is not a path to improvement? And although Mr. Dyer apparently can’t see it, this time the school board is promoting a method of improving many of the deficiencies he cited in his recent opinion piece.
This school bond is to be used primarily to create facilities for vocational training, now called Career and Technical Education (CTE), and I say that the result will be a boon for our students, and likely the socio-economics of Ramona.
The Ramona Unified School District has an excellent record on educating kids that go on to university. My observation is that perhaps 20% of all students follow that path and do well in life through professional careers. However, we have a much larger population that can use a boost through CTE.
I stand as an advocate of CTE because I am the product of high school vocational training and I know it works. In my case I was failing in the standard high school environment and was lucky enough to get into a small vocational school. Fifty some years later I understand that almost 100% of that school’s graduates were able to gain good paying jobs, buy homes, raise families and put their kids through school.
I challenge anyone to come up with programs that work better than the results of my CTE schooling. In this case positive cause and effect were at play. The community where I lived invested in CTE, the cause. We graduates succeeded in life, bolstering the economics of the places we have lived, the effect. An upward cycle. That’s what we need in Ramona.
Statistics provided by the county show that retention scores go way up when kids are involved in CTE. To provide that training the district needs new facilities, and denying the bond won’t make things better, only worse, continuing a downward cycle.
Students in lower socioeconomic situations don’t often see how valuable continuing education is, and end up stuck in low paying jobs. However, providing them CTE training is a way up. Higher incomes create better economic situations, even breaking cycles of poverty. When our neighbors do better, we all do better.
I say it’s time to listen to the school board who are determined to do what’s best for our students and our town. I am convinced that they are right on the mark, asking the public to build CTE facilities. I will vote YES on the Ramona school bond because I want our kids to have the opportunities I had, and I want Ramona to continue to be a good place for everyone that lives here.
David Patterson
Ramona
