Blog: MUSD Staff Implores You To Vote Yes on Prop 30

My name is Scott Iler and I am a teacher at Monrovia High School as well as a Monrovia resident. The fact that I live in Monrovia and work at my High School Alma Mater is a huge testament to this city as well as the education I earned in the Monrovia Unified School District.

This is a last minute effort to get out to the public a sense of how, if proposition 30 does not pass will affect our students and teachers. In order to help balance the budget, teachers have already taken furlough days, this means we have already given up 6 days of instruction. If 30 does not pass, we will lose up to 15 additional days of instruction. This cuts the school year by up to 21 days. Our students will be losing out on almost a month of instruction!

This affects teachers' salary as well, we will take an even greater reduction in pay than we already have! This scenario is not one that we as a state or country can afford. California is already ranked 48th in education. As teachers we are fully aware that those who oppose prop 30 are big business and they have or will out spend us 15 to 1.

In addition, if proposition 32 does pass, teachers will effectively be hamstrung in that we will not have a voice to fight for our students and schools. What happened in Wisconsin CAN happen in California and Monrovia. In a nutshell, a yes vote on prop 30 means that it will stop another $6 billion in cuts to our schools this year. For college students it will prevent steep tuition hikes for college students and their families.

The staff of the Monrovia Unified School District is asking the community to Invest in our schools and colleges so we can prepare the next generation for the jobs of the future. Please join the men and women who teach your children and vote yes on 30 and no on 32!

Scott Iler, M.A. Ed. SPED Dept. Chair Monrovia High School