I have never voted against an educational levy; however, I am considering doing so for the Ridgefield Schools levy. My perspective is unique. For 30 years I taught in a Bay area urban high school; I know real school violence. Contemporaneously I owned a security guard company that provided armed guards at Edwards Air Force Base. I am not only aware of school violence, but also the training private security receives and the low wages paid to guards.
Ridgefield police and the community were neither notified nor consulted. Forty thousand dollars that could be used for educational improvement is being spent on private guards — what are essentially well meaning but under-skilled. I would not want my children “protected” by armed non-law enforcement officers. Remember Columbine had armed guards on campus.
Without good arguments to the contrary, I will vote against the Ridgefield levy. Would $40,000 be available if the math department needed new textbooks?
David Dansky
Ridgefield