Referendum Encourages Students to Thrive In Open, Welcoming, and Safe Environment
To the Editor:
My family and I feel very proud and fortunate to call Princeton home for nearly 15 years. With two daughters at the Princeton Charter School, we moved here for the same reasons that many of you find Princeton attractive. Friendly and caring neighbors, a walkable town with proximity to the university, and great schools are just some of Princeton’s most favorable traits. Today, however, one of these attributes is significantly at risk. Without passing all three measures of the referendum, the quality of education in our schools will decline precipitously.
Princeton Public Schools are already over, at, or near capacity in terms of size, and infrastructure is desperately in need of repair. The estimated impact of the referendum per average, assessed Princeton home is less than $11 per week. These funds can provide a life-saving infusion to our schools. By adding capacity across our schools, this referendum extends Princeton’s quality education across current and additional families moving into the area. This referendum enables our teachers to continue inspiring curious minds. This referendum encourages students to thrive in an open, welcoming, and safe environment. Even for residents who don’t have children at PPS, the referendum provides critical value and economic benefit — communities with well-funded schools have stronger home values.
The School Board has proposed a thoughtful, cost-effective plan that emphasizes our public schools’ smaller class sizes, a cornerstone of our tremendous public schools and a critical ingredient in academic excellence. It is my sincere hope that we act now to maintain the high-quality academics for which PPS has been recognized at the state and national levels. Please vote “yes” to all three parts of the referendum on January 28.