EDITOR,

One of the challenges that Scotts Valley Unified School District is faced with is that money allocated to the district comes out to be around $6,900 per student, while the national average is around $10,000 (search for “current expense of education 2010-11” on the California Department of Education website, www.cde.ca.gov). By contrast, San Lorenzo Valley receives $8,800 per student, and schools over the hill, such as Mountain View, can receive $13,000 per student.

Scotts Valley High School receives the lowest funding in our county, yet performs the highest outside of the Santa Cruz charter school Pacific Collegiate School.

Therefore, an extremely tight budget must meet the demands of one of the top schools in the nation (U.S. News & World Report gold medal award 2012). Up until now, it's been achieved by teachers putting in hours beyond our work day and parents, local clubs, businesses and grants all contributing to keep the school to its standard.

Measure K is asking the community to work as a whole to support local education. A yes vote will be a huge beginning to get the funds necessary to maintain what we've built and keep the education our students deserve.

Beth Hollenbeck, teacher, Scotts Valley Middle School and Scotts Valley High School