We greatly appreciated the knowledgeable explanation by Tom Benson of the two Prescott Unified School District override propositions which will appear on the November 3rd election ballot. Having had a long history with override elections in Prescott, Tom summarized Proposition 405 as intended to raise current teachers' pay, and to add more teachers, to reduce the too-large class sizes. He said Proposition 406 is a “brick-and-mortar” bond authorization of up to $20 milllion for capital projects, including roofs, HVAC systems, technology, security improvements, buses and classroom renovations.
The WHY behind the override propositions is most important to understand. Arizona schools are tied with Tennessee in our national ranking of 49th. Our spending per pupil of $11,987 falls far below the national average of $17,250 - $17,840. Teachers' pay in Arizona ranks 31st nationally, and teachers' salaries in Prescott lag behind those in other parts of the state. Tom also pointed out that the average age of PUSD school buildings is 87 years. One of our schools already had to be closed, due to the lack of funds to repair it and make it serviceable. In spite of all of our funding challenges, our teachers have been doing an incredible job of keeping our students' performance scores up in admirable ranges, according to the statistics Tom shared with us. It is obviously time, though. that Prescott voters need to begin to recognize the deplorable facts about our current funding, and take action. As Tom stated, among the many other considerations, it is becoming increasingly difficult to persuade doctors, nurses and educators to move to Prescott, due to the low funding of our schools.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Dr. Michelle Davis received, on behalf of the Mingus Springs Charter School, our check in the amount of $3,000 at last week's meeting. The check was presented to her by Club President Russ Davis and Sunup Foundatioin Chair Todd Clancy. This contribution will help support the school's weekend backpack program for children who lack a dependable and nutritious suipply of food over the weekend. THe amount of our donation was made possible by a Rotary Foundation District Grant of $1,500, which matched our club's $1,500 for this project.
What goes up … must come down. Pictured above are some of our Sunupian Rotarians who assisted with the taking down and storing of the flags for the Healing Fields 911 Memorial in Prescott Valley.
HAPPENING THIS FRIDAY:
OTHER COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES COMING UP:
October 10 (Saturday) - Food Transit/Sort: Help load bags at Touchmark and/or sort food in Prescott or Prescott Valley
October 24 (Friday) - 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. at Touchmark _ Sunup Rotary Chili Cook-Off & World Polio Day: All hands will be needed to help with this event, and tickets need to be sold NOW
November 11 (Wednesday) - Veteran's Day: Help will be needed to build our Sunup Rotary Float for the Veteran's Day Parade
YOUTH SERVICES
INTERACT
Our Prescott High School Interact Club, which meets the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month, held its 2nd meeting of this school year, and elected their club officers, picured below. Our Sunup Rotary provided pizza for this important meeting.
PHS Interact actually elects their next year's President and Vice President before the end of the school year. VP Carly Duggan and Pres. Isabelle Brown are pictured on the left end of the back row. The reason for delaying electing the remainder of their club officers until the beginning of the school year is to enable freshmen and other underclassmen be included. This helps to assure succession and continuity of the club's leadership. The inscription on the paper plates identifies their office.
DISTRICT NEWS
We have received word that the Sept. 26 sessions of Rotary Connections have been cancelled, due to a too-low number of registrations; and the registration fees of those who had already registered are being refunded.
Pa and Ma were at church, and as they were leaving the minister said, "Pa, I wish we'd see you here more than twice a year!" Pa said, "Ya, I know, but at least we keep the ten commandments." The minister said, "Well, that's good you keep the ten commandments." And Pa said, "Ya, Ma keeps six of 'em and I keep the other four."
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A man walked into a hardware store and picked up a can of fly spray, and he asked the sales assistant, “Is this good for wasps” “No” the assistant replied, “It kills them.”
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Me: “I finally taught our dog Morse Code” Dog taps his paw. Wife: “What did he say?” Me: “Woof”
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Q – Why does a Barber win every race?
A – He knows short cuts.
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I have something in my car that alerts me the second I hit 61 in a 60 mph zone.
We’ve been married for 40 years.
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I changed my password to “INCORRECT.”
So when I forget what it is, the computer will say, “YOUR PASWORD IS INCORRECT.”
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Instead of texting “Here,” last night, one of my friends knocked on the front door, like our ancestors used to do.
"Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves."
Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, Current Rotary International President
Greetings Rotarians!
Our club will start publishing a monthly member roster this month.The roster will serve several purposes:
Help us to be better connected via contact info
Help us to get to know each other better (profession, veteran, spouse name (if shared with Rotary)
Aid in connecting our personal and business needs with one another (did you know Eric Chester specializes in Estate Planning…I didn’t😊)
Articulate Club Participation and Impact
If there is anything missing, it is my fault. Please send me a note and we will gladly update the roster for the next version the following month.
This week we will be learning how our club impacts the International Community through Club funding and Global Grants. Our club does more than most in this area and we intend to keep that up!John Stewart and Todd Clancy will be traveling to the Mexican Friendship Conference in early November. While there, they will be representing our club’s interest in making a difference in communities around the world.This year our club has pledged to give $2,500 for this impact!
DID YOU KNOW that all members of our club are granted membership to the Prescott Chamber of Commerce.Our club pays dues to the chamber, affording each and every one of you the opportunity to attend and participate in Chamber event.I attended the new member breakfast on 18 Sep at Touchmark—it was great, over 100 business and community leaders were in attendance.I encourage all of you to take advantage of this great Rotary benefit!
Help Spread Sunshine: If you currently know any Rotary members who are going through challenging times or if you'd like to volunteer to make calls and send cards to members and their families during sickness, hospitalization or loss, contact Laura Vanderberg <laura@newtonservicesconsulting.com>
