To my fellow Elida community members:
I write to you today in the hopes that you will stand up for our young Elida Bulldogs on May 8th and vote yes for a new elementary school. Aside from the fact that the building is aging and overcrowded, the students’ safety is dependent on this new building.
As a parent of a third- and first-grader, the safety and security of our students and staff members is constantly on my mind. Last year my eldest daughter attended her class in a modular (small manufactured building) that was outside the security of the elementary school. The students would have to walk outside back and forth between their classroom and the main building, leaving them vulnerable to the elements as well as predators. Our school officers do their very best to monitor the hallways of our school, but they cannot protect those students and staff members in the modulars at all times.
Students cannot achieve their best unless they feel comfortable. A new school would provide limited access to the playgrounds as well as eliminate the modular learning centers. By controlling access to our elementary school, we can provide the safe environment the children and staff need.
Thanks to the state, the $18.1 million contribution to building a new school means my property tax increase will be minimal. But, can you really put a price tag on the lives of students?
Whether you have children in the school or not, we are community that stands for and protects our little Bulldogs. In turn, in the future, they will be the ones protecting us.
April Shattuck, Elida
