My parents were both teachers. My wife was an educator. We like education in this house.
I remember hearing about the bond referendums that my school district would put up for a vote when I was a kid. I grew up in a town that was growing like a weed and building a new elementary school every other year to keep up with demand. Referendums came fast and furious, but my town was willing to support the blossoming student population and kept approving the referendums.
Then the population plateaued and the student population shrank and the district closed an elementary school and then the referendums suddenly were very unpopular among the population that no longer had students in the district.
Today I cast a vote in election that involved the school district in which my children will attend. Now, they won't be students for a few more years, but there's no harm in laying a good foundation, right?
This election, it was a little more...um...real? Now that I'm a parent, these votes matter a whole lot more to me than as a childless someone who just generally supported learnin' and such. This election will directly affect my kids. My perfect children who will be the first twins to be simultaneously elected Presidents of the United States. These kids.
When I was sitting at the poll, reading over the ballot that described for what the proposed budget increase would be used, I thought, "Yes, I do support the purchase of security cameras for the entrances to the elementary schools, and for newer, safer, school buses, and for the proper maintenance of athletic facilities that my kids would enjoy, and for the purchase of new technologies so that education can adapt with the changing times."
The guy next to me sighed a disgusted sigh and said, "Well, [insert my town here] is asking for damn Astro-Turf again."
Civic duty. It's what's for dinner.
