A few years ago the community of Upper Lake passed a bond having the community invest in our school district. Included in the bond were provisions for a totally renovated school that included building a brand new music building.

Passing a school bond in such a rural community as Upper Lake is no small task. Parents, teachers, administrators and community members put in many hours to progress the passing of the bond.

Our district made good use of this community investment and has created one of the finest music programs in Lake County. The teacher, equipment and facility are all top notch.

In these uncertain times the district is now considering dropping the music program all together. Music is something the voters want at Upper Lake High School. If the district follows through with such a cut, it will be throwing away one of the investments that our community has committed to in our schools and acting against what the voters, taxpayers and investors want for our district. Our school already has vacant auto and wood shop buildings where investments of dollars, time, and effort lay dormant.

Our small district has an opportunity to set ourselves apart from many of the other districts in the state. While many districts and sending out layoff notices whole sale, cutting sports programs and considering closing schools, our district has the ability to preserve the programs the community has invested into for so many years.

The district has wisely saved for a rainy day. Our district is fortunate to have incredible people working in positions where money is involved. Our superintendent, business manager and even our school board members all have an incredible sense of how to bring revenue and funding into the district. We have consistently maintained funding for our district’s reserve and this year we even have carry over money in our general fund from previous years, all the while maintaining a wide selection of courses and programs.

Our current economy calls for tough choices and I don’t envy any of the decision makers during this time. However, we must consider that with every investment comes risk. The community has taken risks in investing in the school bond. The voters have taken risks with their investments at the voting booth. I ask that the district take a risk, follow through with the investments it has made over the years and maintain the music program during this troubling time.

Alex Stabiner teaches US history, government and economics at Upper Lake High School. He lives in Kelseyville.

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