In her letter opposing the school bond election, Nancy Plencer asked who is funding the campaign urging passage, and implies that it must only be outside forces pushing the issue because there are so many school districts trying to pass bonds and/or overrides.

Allow me to answer her question. All Arizona public schools are underfunded and are in desperate need of additional funding. Some, like Fountain Hills, have been denied adequate funding for too long.

I am a retiree on a fixed income. I, like many other Fountain Hills residents, contributed to the campaign because I wholeheartedly support the school bond election, am perfectly willing to pay an additional $9-$10 per month, and encourage all residents to vote for it.

Why? I have two very important reasons.

First, I care about the children of this community. They are our future, so I want to create the safest, most secure, best learning environment possible. The bond will provide improvements of gates, doors and windows, cameras, fencing, alarm system and security upgrades at all schools, along with building renovations, improvements, repairs and replacement.

Second, I care about property values. Any realtor will tell you that one of the most important factors attracting new businesses and families to a community is the quality of the schools. Perhaps if we funded our schools better, we wouldn’t lose students to other better-funded districts like Scottsdale, and we would attract more families.

Since the Chamber of Commerce supports passage of the bond, we know that local businesses in our town realize how valuable quality schools are to a thriving community. I would guess that many of them also contributed to the campaign to pass the bond, just like me.

Without quality schools, our community may wither and die. Join me in voting yes for schools.