I am at an age where my children are close to graduating and will soon be leaving Lake Orion schools. Many of the improvements and refurbishing planned within the Building and Site Sinking Fund will take place after they are gone.
But I still wholeheartedly support this important ballot measure and urge you to do the same. Here’s why:
The schools in Lake Orion do not belong to the administration or to the principals or to our teachers. They belong to US–to you and me and to our neighbors all around us. We built these schools with our tax dollars–they are our investment. And we need to protect that investment or it will be worth far less a decade from now.
Realtors will tell you that the number one reason people buy a house in a certain area is the quality of the schools. Lake Orion Schools do an excellent job of preparing students for college and careers. LOCS is now in the top tier in our county, our state and the nation. That makes me proud–and should make us all proud–but it also makes our community and our homes worth much more.
I know that times are still very tough for a lot of people. My own family has had a difficult decade financially that we are just coming out of. But this Building and Site Sinking would cost the average homeowner less than 55 cents a day. I can’t buy a cup of coffee or a half of gallon of gas or anything at the dollar store for 55 cents. But what that 55 cents can do is protect my investment in my home and in our schools–and I believe that lots of us can dig in and find the pocket change each day to do that.
Friends, family, neighbors: I contend that we can’t afford not to support this ballot initiative. I urge you to vote YES for the LOCS Building and Site Sinking Fund on Aug. 2.
Kerry Birmingham
Lake Orion resident