Vote yes for safer schools

BY HANNAH WHITE

I am voting YES on the school bond and asking you to join me. Why? Because our schools must be safer. The threat of gun violence in schools is real. A year ago, most of our state was on lockdown following the Lewiston shooting, and on just the second day of school in Cape Elizabeth, there was a school shooting in Georgia. We must do better for our kids. Building schools designed for 21st-century learning and safety is part of that.

What we heard from the experts, after months of public meetings and presentations, was that building a new middle school, and making critical updates to the elementary and high school, are the only ways to fully meet our current safety requirements. I encourage everyone to compare the sprawling, unplanned layout of the middle school with the proposed design for the new building. It’s easy to see how much safer the new design would be for our students.

The plan on the ballot, approved by the school board, is fiscally responsible, based on the needs of our students and educators, and will create a safe environment for learning. Every day when I put my son on the bus, I hug him, pause for a moment, and hope that today a tragedy won’t occur in our schools. I tell my kids one of my most important jobs is to keep them safe. Please help me keep all kids in Cape Elizabeth safe by voting YES on the school bond.