Dist. 39 Ed. Foundation Trustee: Many Compelling Reasons to Vote Yes

Pam Martin is a Wilmette resident and has served as a trustee for Dist. 39's Education Foundation since 2005. Martin has four children who have attended public school in Wilmette. 

So many decisions are hard. So many times I have gone to vote, for a candidate, for a proposal, for a past referendum with mixed emotions, sometimes uncertain if I am truly making the best choice. That is not the case for me in this upcoming election. I am clear and confident that a YES vote on the upcoming Wilmette Referendum is the best course of action for our community.   

My certainty in the need for the proposed referendum is based factors of the mind as well as the heart. The facts as I see them related to our district budget shortfall are very clear. We are operating at a substantial deficit and will need to significantly reduce costs or increase revenues to achieve balance. Without an influx of revenue from the Referendum our expenses can only be reduced by cutting some integral components of our children's education. If we do not pass the referendum, we will have alarming increases in class size as well as elimination of arts, music and foreign language programming. After listening to presentations by members of our School Board, our Superintendent and discussions with-in the Educational Foundation (of which I am a Trustee), it is evident to me that our school district is in critical need of additional revenue to prevent the loss of what I believe to be fundamental elements to our educational mission.  

But, my decision to support this Referendum extends further than just knowing the "facts." I am motivated by deeper reasons- educational goals in my heart and soul, less quantifiable, but critically important. Over the past 15 years of having Wilmette students in my own household, knowing many children of my friends and neighbors as well as being in and around our schools over the years, I have come to cherish a quality in our students that I can only best describe as what I will call the Wilmette Learner.   

Our Wilmette Learners are a multi-talented group of students. They have their unique gifts and passions- some for writing, some for science, some for the arts.  They have a broad array of learning styles- visual, auditory, experiential. Yet, a quality that I observe over and over is their individual curiosity in their pursuit of knowledge. New Trier describes this as a "commitment of minds to inquiry." Yet, in my experience, our Wilmette learners are committed to this long before they walk in the front doors of New Trier High School.  

I see it in the exuberance of our K-4 students as they learn about science in their outdoor gardens. I see it in the excellence of their Highcrest Math and Science Fair Projects. I see it in the critical thinking of the papers they write in Junior High School. And then I see our Wilmette learners "take off" in high school and college. I see their well developed innate curiosity and fascination with their world applied to the rigorous courses they take at New Trier, the Junior Themes they write, the academic pathways they choose in college. I see it in the way our emerging young adults talk about and make sense of the events of our world.  

As a community member and a parent I have felt a great sense of satisfaction and excitement for an educational job well-done for most of our K-8 students. It is my hope that we will continue to invest in our Wilmette Learners. A 'Yes' vote on the Referendum is critical to continue the legacy of educational excellence that we have so carefully provided for our students.