To the editor:

The Vicksburg Warren School District has made remarkable strides in the past several years under the leadership of our current School Board, the Administrative team led by Chad Shealy and especially the teachers and principals whose hard work and care everyday are preparing our youth for productive lives.

Here are just a few indications of solid progress:

a) only one B-rated school in the District in 2015; by 2017, there were five;

b) 26.6% improvement in graduation rates from 2012 to 2017;

c) dramatic decreases in disciplinary referrals in all elementary schools; for example, Redwood’s went from 448 in 2015 to 55 in 2017 and is typical of results in other schools;

d) the new College and Career Academies are focusing kids on career preparation with up to two years of college credit possible—with no college tuition;

e) the District’s raw scores have improved each of the last 3 years by a total of 17% and will almost certainly move up a full letter grade this year;

f) passage rate of the state-wide 3rd grade reading proficiency improved from 88.71% in 2015 to 98.64% in 2017.

There are many other green sprouts all over the District.

The point is that a major renaissance is occurring with our teachers and students — in spite of the old, out of date classrooms and facilities they have had to use.

Here are only a few examples.

Leaky roofs, of which there are many, will eventually create mold. In some classrooms, there are only two electrical outlets, rendering computer use virtually impossible. Entrances were designed prior to the age of school shootings and must be updated to protect our children. Finally, when potential new businesses and residents consider Vicksburg (or when people who work in Vicksburg choose where to live), one of the most important factors is the quality of the school system. The poor condition of our schools’ physical plants screams to potential businesses and residents that our community is not making adequate investments in these schools.

This bond issue will specifically address these problems, and the use of the bond funds will be limited to expenditures on facilities.

Corin and I submit that changing what’s happening in the classrooms is, by far, the most difficult part. Our hard-working teachers have been doing that heavy lifting for several years. Their efforts continue to show amazingly positive results. Those results have received national recognition. But the physical environment is important to learning and results too.

We have no children in the schools anymore, but we care about the future of this community. We care about the potential realization, the safety and well being of the children in the system now and in the future. Our community’s future (not to mention our children’s future) highly correlates with the quality and safety of the local school system.

Everyone has a dog in this hunt. Let us all participate in making the school facilities reflect and enhance our District’s on-going cultural and academic renewal. PLEASE VOTE FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT BOND ISSUE.

Bob and Corin Morrison

Vicksburg