The future of our community is walking in the halls of Salina Elementary School and sitting at the desks in Stout Middle School.
The success of children in the public schools will determine the way forward for the Arab community not only in Dearborn but across the country.
That’s why we must back the bond to revamp the physical infrastructure in the schools, which will come at no cost to taxpayers in Dearborn.
Many of our school buildings are in desperate need of major repairs; others are beyond fixing.
We cannot allow our kids to get their education in decrepit buildings as we prepare them for university and the workplace in a fast-changing world that is increasingly dependent on technology.
State-wide races, especially the Senate contest between Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers, have dominated the conversation around the election in our community.
But when you go to vote for your favored Senate candidate, don’t forget to fill out the other side of the ballot, where the school bond is.
The proposal is titled, “Dearborn Public Schools School Improvement Proposition.”
El-Sayed’s rise to become one of the most well-known people in the country and possibly the first Muslim senator is a lesson in the importance of education.
The Democrat did not follow a traditional path into politics. He rose to prominence through his eloquence and intelligent policy proposals in part thanks to his stellar academic background.
If our community is to produce the next Abdul El-Sayed, we must equip our children with the best education possible.
The bond would raise $1.5 billion and kick off 20 years of construction, including replacing several facilities and building six new schools.
The money raised by the bond will be offset by property tax cuts from the schools and the city in Dearborn, so it will change the tax rate.
“This is the community’s bond,” Dearborn Schools superintendent Mike Esseily told The Yemeni American News in September.
“When you have strong schools, you have a strong community. When you have strong schools, you have a safe community. When you have strong schools, you have a bright future. And that’s what this bond means to me. It’s a way of giving back to the Dearborn community.”
We couldn’t agree more.
This is the community’s bond, and the community must back it to ensure a brighter future for itself.
