As a resident of Elbert County for the past 14 years and having had a son graduate from Elizabeth High School, I want to state the reasons for my support of ballot initiative 3A.

We continually witness problems in our economy, especially today with the financial environment weakening and our dependence on foreign imports and trade reaching staggering heights. Each resident and household is dealing with these challenges as best we can. We make decisions that affect our daily lives as well as the quality of that life well into the future.

Our children do not have the luxury or burden of having to make those decisions. They are trying to prepare themselves for the future by taking part in the learning experiences we provide for them in our families and in the academic setting. As families, we pass on our values and beliefs in our best effort to prepare our children; but that is not enough for them to successfully compete in the world market. We see jobs and opportunities diminish as other countries appear to be better prepared, trained, and educated for stepping into the 21st century than our own United States.

As a school district, we cannot improve the entire nation’s education system, but we can do something about our own. Thinking globally and acting locally can be more than mantra we speak; it can be a philosophy that we can pass on to the future.

Let us give our children the best opportunity we can to be successful. Let us provide them with the best teachers we can afford, give them the tools with which to be competitive, and assure that they are not technologically challenged as they take on the mantles of leadership we hand to them.

The cost is relatively minimal for what we receive. I don’t know if we can solve the teacher retention problems with salary increases alone, or if together with modernizing the academic curriculum and updating our technology will achieve what our children need. I do know that without those improvements, we are sure to continue to see a decline in our quality staff, the remainder of which will be using a teaching environment equipped with curricula, materials, and technology that is not keeping pace with the dynamic world stage. We will fail our children and force them into secondary roles in the future.

If your home is valued at the average $350,000, then your monthly contribution will be about $16.35 per month or less than $200 per year. That’s about one venti latte a week.

I think our children are worth much more than that. We talk about wanting the best for our kids. Let’s do something more than talk. Let’s act. Vote for the future — vote yes on 3A.

Armando ”Archie” Aquino,

Elizabeth