I wish we would put our children first

I wish…

I wish people could see the inside of our school before the teachers cover the cracks.

But you never will, because teachers make their rooms beautiful and ready for students.

I wish people could look at the pocketbooks of their teachers because a large sum of what comes into the classrooms is funded by teachers.

But you never will, because they do it gladly.

I wish you could have seen the snow falling in the boys bathroom last year, one glittery flake at a time.

But you never will because our staff cleans it up and looks for ways to patch it up so the kids can stay in school.

I wish you could have been here when we practiced the live shooter drill and shivered as gunshots rang through the school, knowing that all the readiness and training will not prevent an intruder from coming into our easy-to-enter building if evil decides to visit.

But you never will, because Valley View teachers and staff believe in protecting kids and parents at all cost.  They show up every day knowing that they will be the only strong wall between our children and an intruder.

I wish this community would see the truth about the need for a new school, and the need for good things for the learners we touch.

I wish that we would put worth in the people who are inside doing the work and the students who are eager to learn.

I wish….

I wish we would put our kids first again… Like the generations of people before us did.

Vote yes.

ADETTA UMPHENOUR

Naples