For those schools in older neighborhoods, it will provide a facelift and a more pleasant learning environment in older classrooms. For those who perceive a great disparity, it will help to create equity between the oldest and newer schools.

In a changing world, it will address technology, which is growing exponentially, allowing all of our students to access more engaging methods of educational instruction. And with the need to greater insure student safety, it will add security devises throughout the schools within our district.

Yes, while we are facing a recession and the thought of a new tax of $15 per $100,000 of assessed valuation may be asking too much, the return on your investment will outweigh the cost. This cost to most taxpayers will be not more than $45 per year, less than a single tank of gas or about 85 cents a week.

Even though Tracy Unified School District has built a number of new facilities over the past 20 years, most of our schools need some form of new infrastructure to deliver the latest means of instruction, given the exponential growth in technology. With expanded use of the Internet for research and the ability to download video media, TUSD has a way to go to catch up with the 21st century.

Every student in Tracy Unified deserves the opportunity to receive the benefits of technology. Unfortunately, the older district schools, those built on average more than 50 years ago, do not have adequate infrastructure to deliver higher platforms of instruction without major remodeling or reconstruction.

As you would expect with any older buildings, even with perfect daily care and maintenance, eventually they will need retrofitting the many of the structural elements. And with on-going changes in school building code requirements, developed to maintain better health and safety, many of our older structures do not meet current standards. We need to address this issue in our schools.

Just as we have done to reconstruct Tracy High School, we need to renovate other older schools throughout our district.

Measure S could make significant changes in the Tracy community. Modern, clean facilities create a positive atmosphere for our students. Old and inadequate environments are distractive and interfere with their concentration. 

Are you willing to compromise the next generation’s opportunity for success? Don’t think twice about failing to insure our future. Vote yes on Measure S.

• Cheryl Fowler co-chairs the Measure S committee. She’s a former president of the Tracy Chamber of Commerce.