Parent volunteers urge support of school levy

To the Editor:

We would like to introduce ourselves to the public: We are Tiger Nation for Strong Schools, a group of district parents and community volunteers campaigning for the 4.8 mill operating levy on the November ballot. 

Formerly known as Citizens for Our Heights Schools, we opted to change our name after the anti-levy campaign co-opted “Tiger Nation,” despite the fact that [its members] do not send their children to public schools, do not volunteer their time within district buildings, and do not identify themselves in any way with Tiger Nation. They were instead trying to intentionally mislead and confuse the public; something they were unfortunately successful in doing. 

We are the ones who truly believe in the students, families, teachers and staff that make up our fine public-school district, and who will work to ensure it has the funding necessary to do the vital work of educating our community’s children. 

While our current board of education and administration should be applauded for the difficult budget cuts they’ve enacted, we do not believe that education is a for-profit industry where the bottom line trumps all. Efficiency is not, and cannot and should not be, the guiding principle when creating a school district’s budget. 

Instead of only looking at what a district cuts, how about looking at what a district offers—at its wide [range]of valuable programming—from advanced coursework to English as a Second Language, from sports to arts and music, from equitable social supports to Career Technical Education? These are what make a district successful, and these are what CH-UH schools do so well.

As volunteers with Tiger Nation for Strong Schools, these are what we will fight to maintain. We hope you’ll join us by visiting www.chuhyes.com and by voting for the upcoming school levy.

Krissy Dietrich Gallagher

Krissy Dietrich Gallagher
Cleveland Heights
(A freelance writer for the CH-UH City School District, Dietrich Gallagher  wrote this letter as a volunteer.)

Read More on Letters To The Editor
Volume 13, Issue 9, Posted 3:44 PM, 08.31.2020