Editor’s note: The following letter was submitted by Albert Berriz, the treasurer of Citizens for a Responsible Washtenaw, which opposed the countywide school enhancement millage on last Tuesday’s ballot.
First of all, thank you!
(Tuesday) night was the first step in ensuring the future of our public schools in Washtenaw County. You have done great work, and made a meaningful difference in our schools, our community and with our kids. But we need to stay passionate, committed and focused!
I want you to know that you have my word that I will stay as focused and passionate as you have seen me on this most important issue. Nothing will change!
Please join me in the solution, holding hands across the county and together let's:
• Keep the "focus" on the 5 points for Transformational Change in all 10 school districts.
• Require that our school board members and school executives deliver transparency! That's something they can do "right away" to show the voters they understand what happened last night. Make it simple, offer it up and let's get started. No excuses.
• Hold our elected officials accountable and continue to shine light. Don't let them off the hook now, let's do more collectively than we have ever before as a community!
• Not let them cut alternative programs and teachers, and have them deliver more efficient food services, transportation services and custodial and maintenance services; less costly health insurance programs, and without question reduced central office overhead in all 10 districts via creative efficiencies and consolidation. This is something we can do today. Let's start now!
• Have the business community offer its business acumen to the equation and have the business community support the solution in important and meaningful ways!
We need to hold our school board members and executives in all 10 districts accountable, and they must now act with the "mandate" given to them by the voters of Washtenaw County.
Let's come together and let's not lose momentum! I very much appreciate the broad coalition of folks that came together to do the right thing. But now more than ever, we need to stay together. It’s our responsibility, we must do this! We must!
The work begins ...
Albert Berriz Ann Arbor
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