Special Election Program with Superintendent Bobby Pearce 7 pm Thursday May 9th at Wakulla County Library

Wakulla County residents face a special election in May on a School Board referendum.  Voters may cast their ballot by absentee – this week that means walking in to the Supervisor of Election’s office with your absentee ballot, early voting on Saturday May 11, or going to the polls on May 14, our designated Special Election Day.

Here in Wakulla County we are blessed to have one of the best school systems in the state.  It has been that way for a couple of generations and has been a major driver of county growth.  On May 14, the voters of Wakulla will have the opportunity to choose to continue to have a strong school system by voting yes for our schools.

Wakulla County residents are known for carefully considering all ballot initiatives.  Over the past several years, while experiencing painfully deep cuts, the Wakulla County School District has continued to consistently earn a district grade of “A” and be ranked among the top for state scores in math and reading. 

The Great Recession severely impacted much of the state and still continues to impact our county.   As a result our schools have taken repeated budget cuts that have affected our children and teachers. Additionally, student enrollment in the county has been declining since School Year 2008-09. Despite these challenges, the district has proven to be a strong and trusted steward of taxpayer dollars.  Wakulla is in the Top 3 school districts in the State of Florida for delivering the best Return on Investment [ROI] to the tax payers of the county. 

So what will it cost Wakulla residents if it passes?  The average cost per home will be less than $2 per month. That’s taking into account the average home market value of $105,000 in our county before homestead exemption.  This seems a small price to pay to continue to have superior schools that attract new families to Wakulla and prepare our children to succeed in life. 
 
While the school district needs to use some of this funding to support school operations and expenses, it will allow money for several critical areas.  For instance, the increased funding will be used toward enhancing career and technical educational programs to help students get jobs;  supporting highly qualified teachers; preserving outstanding student academic, athletics and arts programs;  improving school safety; and assuring appropriate technology readiness.

Education is key to casting an informed vote.   On Thursday, May 9^th at 7 pm the Wakulla County Democratic Party invites everyone – regardless of party affiliation – to join us for an educational program at the Wakulla County Library located at 4330 Crawfordville Hwy. The program will discuss the state of Wakulla County Schools, the School Board referendum, and will feature our guest speaker, Superintendent Bobby Pearce. 

Please join us to hear Superintendent Pearce and learn the facts about the upcoming Special Election.

Light refreshments will be served. The program is free and open to the public.

-- Special to Wakulla Democratic Women from Wakulla County Democratic Executive Committee Members

http://wakullademocrats.org/