Kathy Wiebke (Submitted photo)

Roughly half of Maricopa County saw their school override and bond initiatives fail on Tuesday night. In a state that ranks as one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in per pupil funding in the nation, those failures can be devastating for the children in those districts.

Those of us living within the Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) boundaries are celebrating a much-needed victory. The passage of the continuation of the Maintenance and Operations override (M&O) means that essential programs our children rely upon can continue.

I thank every citizen that voted to protect our children and their future. I appreciate the countless volunteers who worked tirelessly to protect our neighborhood schools from drastic cuts to vital programs. We are blessed to live among people who recognize the importance of protecting our communities.

Collectively, we have voted to protect our children, our neighborhood schools, our property values and our economic future. If, like our SUSD students, we were being graded for our Citizenship 101 exam, I think we all just earned an A+.

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