Education shapes the community's tomorrow

In November, we'll be voting to elect three members to the Western Placer Unified School Board. Michelle Kubo, Marjorie Proffitt and Quinn Eichhorst are candidates for 3 of the 5 non-partisan positions. On Aug. 26, a standing-room-only meet-and-greet in Lincoln gave our community an opportunity to hear directly from all three candidates. It was exciting and encouraging to hear one message that came through loud and clear: Academic excellence and achievement for ALL students must be a priority! That should be important to every one of us. Too many of our children are still not meeting grade-level standards in reading and/or math. We cannot simply accept those results as inevitable. Our children deserve better, so we must make some changes to ensure that they improve academically. The candidates also emphasized fiscal responsibility and protecting parents' rights to full disclosure of curriculum and school policies that affect their children. Running a campaign for school board is expensive. Each campaign costs thousands of dollars, which will have to come from the candidates themselves unless community members step up to support them financially. This election matters to everyone – even if you don't have children or grandchildren in this district. The quality of our schools affects property values and the strength of our entire community. But most importantly, today's students will become tomorrow's workers, parents and citizens. The education we provide them today will shape the community we'll live in tomorrow. I urge all voters to evaluate these candidates' priorities. If you agree – be sure to VOTE for Michelle Kubo, Marjorie Proffitt and Quinn Eichhorst in November! And for now, please support them with your time and/or financial contributions to help get them elected. Our children are counting on us to get this right! Beth Schuman Lincoln