Madison CAST November, 2008 Referendum Neighborhood & PTO Newsletter

We are asking if you would put this in your school newsletters and share it with your members as we need your help to spread the word about the referendum to your friends and neighbors. Please feel free to share the attached with your neighborhood newsletters as well.

Jackie Woodruff jkwoodruff@charter.net
Communites and Schools Together Treasurer

On November 4, 2008 voters in the Madison school district will decide on a funding referendum that is crucial to the future of our children and our community.

Good schools are the backbone of a healthy community. Our public schools are essential for expanding prosperity, creating opportunity, overcoming inequality, and assuring an informed, involved citizenry. Madison's public schools have been highly successful and highly regarded for many years. We've learned that quality public education comes from well-trained teachers, the hard work of our students and teachers, and also from a steady commitment from the community at large.

After several public forums, study, and deliberation, the Board of Education has unanimously recommended that our community go to referendum, to allow the board to budget responsibly and exceed the revenue caps for the 2009-2012 school years. The referendum is a compromise proposal in that it seeks to offset only about 60% of the estimated budget shortfall in order to keep tax increases low.

The projection is that school property taxes would increase by less than 2%. Even with increased property values and a successful referendum, most property owners will still pay less school property taxes than they did in 2001.

Most importantly, this November 4th, the voters in Madison can recommit to public education and its ideals by passing a referendum for the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Thank you so much for your work and support for Madison's Public Schools, Communities and Schools Together (CAST) - a grassroots organization devoted to educating and advocating on behalf of quality schools -- needs your help in support of the November referendum. We need volunteers to help distribute literature, put up yard signs, host house parties for neighbors, write letters to the editor--but most of all we need your support by voting YES on the referendum question.

Keep our schools and communities strong by supporting the referendum. To learn more, donate to the campaign or get involved--visit Community and Schools Together (CAST) at www.madisoncast.org.

Posted by Jackie Woodruff at September 16, 2008 9:31 AM
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