Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Feb. 19, 2024
Election Department staff stands ready to fulfill oath
It has been an honor and a privilege for the past 10 years to serve as Marin County registrar of voters. Early voting has started in the March 5 presidential primary election and each registered voter has an opportunity to exercise the constitutional right to vote.
As your professional election administrators, it is our priority to maintain integrity and follow the rule of law. Our mission is to serve the public by being responsive, transparent and professional when conducting elections so our work inspires trust and confidence in our democratic form of government.
The integrity of the voting process is of utmost importance and each Elections Department staff member upholds the mission by providing helpful and accurate information to the public and by following checks and balances that are built into the administration process.
Maintaining integrity is the bedrock of our work. It inspires confidence in the election process. During the election, observers are welcome to witness ballot processing throughout the entire election period. In a survey conducted during the November 2022 election, 100% of observers’ responses confirmed that the process they witnessed was “good,” “very good” or “excellent.”
As we celebrate Presidents Day, we are reminded of our freedoms and the local institutions that exist to protect our rights as voters. Elections Department staff take an oath that states in part: “I do hereby solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of California … and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.”
Election integrity is a duty we take seriously.
— Lynda Roberts, Marin registrar of voters
Vote no on Measure A for Tam District high schools
From 2009 to 2023, at least one of my four children was at Redwood High School every single year. I have had a front row seat for what I consider to be the collapse of academic standards at Redwood under Tamalpais Union High School District leadership.
Parents and taxpayers should pay attention before voting on the Measure A bond proposal in the March 5 election. Modern buildings are just “window dressing” to hide a dismal academic record. For years, the administration has overlooked academics, focusing on everything but learning. It shows. Redwood, Tamalpais and Archie Williams high schools have all seen their state and national rankings fall over the last 10 years.
Measure A is costly. The projects it will pay for are extravagant. It is an insult to common sense. I believe funds are needed because administrators have not properly maintained the buildings. I expect to see many fees for consultants, inevitable delays and cost overruns.
I believe the bond’s projects will further distract administrators from education: TUHSD will become a real estate development company with a school side business.
In 2023, the district announced teacher layoffs because of the decline in enrollment. That argument should be used again to vote no on Measure A. According to one study, the number of students in the district could drop thousands by the end of the bond’s life in 2054.
Only dedicated teachers and coaches, not an ever expanding administrative bureaucracy, deliver quality education. Instead of vanity real estate projects, the district should once again attract the best possible teachers, whom all of us would be happy to support with our taxes.
— Benedetto Cico, Sleepy Hollow
Vote yes on Measure A for Tam District high schools
Many of my colleagues currently teach in outdated portable trailer classrooms at Redwood High School, one of which I can stick my hand through. That portable, and the other dilapidated buildings across the Tamalpais Union High School District, are slated to be replaced if Measure A passes.
The most significant needs are at Redwood and Tamalpais, largely because, by state law, we have buildings that must be replaced, not remodeled. Complying has the benefit of providing our students with modern learning spaces that will match the kind of education we strive to give our students every day.
Teachers support Measure A in the March 5 election because it is well considered and provides each school with what it needs. The bond pays for repairs and upgrades to roofs, plumbing and electrical systems. It helps campuses comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It will update the schools to be inspiring places for students to stretch themselves as we help prepare them for life after high school.
— Erik Berkowitz, Novato