Great news . . .

This evening the Maple Valley City Council on a 6 to 0 vote passed a resolution in support of our bond measure.  In the public hearing that preceded the vote a number of people spoke in favor of the bond and urged the council to support it. 

The first speaker was a Rock Creek fourth grade student, Eliza Stramer, who shared her concern about class sizes.  She effectively communicated her concern and contributed to the community conversation with her presence.  She was followed by TEA President Scott Mitchell, Chamber President Karen Crowe, Sean Stewart father of two Tahoma students and school supporter, our own Sean Kelly a Tahoma graduate, and Cheryl Castagna long time resident and school supporter.

Tom Sutton, one of my former students also spoke this evening.  Tom is a resident of Kent, owns a business in Maple Valley, and is a Rotarian and long time community contributor.  He spoke this evening as a Tahoma graduate and supporter of our schools. 

Perhaps the most convincing speaker was a mother of three students who shared her experience searching for a school system to enroll them in.  She shared that she home schooled her daughters until this year when she made a decision to enroll them in a public school.  She did extensive research and made the decision that Tahoma was the place for their family.  She also shared that if the bond were to fail and impact the quality of current offerings, it would place her in the position of needing to rethink their decision, something she does not want to do.  Endorsements such as this evening from the city is a positive step in demonstrating to the voter the broad support that this measure is receiving.