I am very reluctant to inject myself into the public debate over Proposition S. Everyone knows how the principals of the local schools feel about the desperate need for adequate funding of public education. But I feel compelled to respond to the philosophy expressed by Ms. Tellem in her letter last week. She eloquently captured the thought process that I fear is the primary motivation of people who vote against school funding measures. She lamented that “I don’t want to pay extra for someone else’s kids.” It makes me sick to see in writing, but I am glad her thinking is out in the open for all of us to consider.
If you are thinking about voting no on Proposition S, please take a long moment to reflect on that concept. Do you agree that the almost 2500 students in Malibu’s public schools are “someone else’s kids”? Can there really be one-third of the voters in this community who see the children of their friends and neighbors as “other people’s kids” for whom they feel no responsibility? I have come to work every day for the past 30 years – the last 13 at Webster – believing that an educated population is the cornerstone of our freedom and democracy. I believe that every well-educated child represents an investment by society in our collective future and that every child left behind is a tragic waste of human potential that diminishes every single one of us. Has it become somehow naive to believe those things? My experience in Malibu tells me that most people here pride themselves in embracing a broader view of the meaning of “community” than does Ms. Tellem.
You have heard that, “when they say it’s not the $225 … it’s the $225.” Well, I truly believe that it’s not the $225. Digging a little deeper to pay for high quality local schools comes down to a question of values, beliefs, and attitudes. If you have a gun and a private security service, should you stop paying for police protection? If you are young, should you balk at public funding for prescription drugs for senior citizens? Or are we all in this together? Our communities and our country have not been built on a foundation of this “Every man, woman, and child for themselves” philosophy.
I am writing to thank Ms. Tellem for articulating her thinking and to publicly state how certain I am that most people in Malibu will not be able to find it in their hearts and minds to agree with her.
Phil Cott
Principal, Webster School