To the Editor:
Fillmore Unified School District’s schools and classrooms are among our community’s most valuable assets. Measure G, a $41.6 million general obligation bond on the November 8th ballot, will improve and protect these vital public assets without increasing current tax rates.
If approved by voters, Measure G funds will be used to address the most critical needs facing our schools. The projects to be funded will be wide-ranging and will have a profound impact on both our students and our community. Major projects will include:
• Constructing a new gym at Fillmore High improving athletic facilities and allowing for expanded physical education classes benefitting all students
• Modernizing older classrooms to better prepare our students for success in their future studies and careers
• Upgrading older wiring to support modern classroom technology
Of equal importance is the fact that our district’s Board of Trustees is passionately committed to the responsible use of taxpayer funds. As mentioned above, Measure G will not increase a homeowner’s current tax rate. Instead, the tax rate for a prior bond approved by voters in 1997 will be extended with an average rate of 5¢ per $100 of assessed value.
In addition, a Citizens’ Oversight Committee, made up of community members like you, will review each and every bond expenditure. Bond funds will not be used to pay for administrators’ salaries, pensions, or benefits.
Finally, all of Measure G’s bond dollars will be used to improve Fillmore’s schools and facilities and the state will be legally prohibited from taking any of these bond funds and spending them elsewhere.
Ask any real estate professional – good schools improve the value of a community. As a graduate of Fillmore High School, parent of three FHS alumni, and long-time resident and taxpayer, I know the positive impact Fillmore schools have had on our children and our community. Measure G will help ensure future generations of Fillmore students have access to school facilities that meet the needs of 21st century education. With independent oversight, a list of community-selected projects and no increase in current tax rates, Measure G deserves your strong support.
Christine Schieferle
Community Member, FHS Class of ‘91

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To the Editor:
One of the human treasures of Fillmore died last Friday morning.
Sarah Hansen was the model civic-minded person who, when she saw a community problem, fashioned a solution. Politics were not her particular interest, but Sarah got things done. A quietly effective and tireless volunteer, she supported any cause that would help people in need, especially the young. No fuss, just service to her fellow citizens delivered with steadiness, civility, dignity, patience, and a quiet joy.
With all her accomplishments, I never heard her utter an unkind word.
A light has gone out in Fillmore for everyone who knew her. This is not the time for me to engage in querulous political debate. We have all lost a dear friend and a luminous human being. Whatever else is going on in the world, Fillmore owes her memory a moment.
Kelly Scoles,
Fillmore, Ca.

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To the Editor:
Democratic Congresswoman and 2020 Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard has announced she is leaving the Democrat Party. She supported Biden when she dropped out of the race.
Her reason, “I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party. It’s now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoking anti white racism, who actively worked to undermine our God given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and who are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, who demonize the police who protect criminals at the expense of law abiding Americans who believe in open borders, who weaponize the national security state to go after their political opponents, and above all, are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war,”
She’s right. And I couldn’t have said it any better. That’s the shame of it all.
Patti Walker,
Fillmore