What you can do!

PDF Version of this document: Here.

The day after Florida lawmakers agreed on a new 2008-09 budget that cuts an additional $466 million from public education for the current school year, Governor Charlie Crist told reporters that Floridians must be satisfied with the cuts or they would have been protesting at the Capitol.

Making our presence felt in Tallahassee is just one way we can support adequate school funding here in Alachua County and throughout Florida. But our power is in numbers. The more citizens there are speaking out, the more likely state leaders will hear us!

Here are several things you can do to become involved in the efforts of Citizens for Strong Schools.

Contact local legislators and state leaders

Governor Crist, legislative leaders and our local lawmakers must know that balancing the state's budget on the backs of schoolchildren is no longer acceptable. They must also know that we expect them to meet their constitutional obligation to make public education the state's 'paramount duty.' That means citizens must be willing to write, call, visit and e-mail our leaders. Contact information for key local and state leaders is available here.

Participate in local/statewide activities

Before and during the next legislative session, which begins March 5, Citizens for Strong Schools will be organizing local events and participating in statewide activities designed to raise awareness among our fellow citizens and to urge lawmakers to fund education properly. A calendar and specific information about those activities can be found here. Keep checking this site for updates as new activities are planned.

Donate

Citizens for Strong Schools will be producing information materials and planning special events for the next several months. We are now seeking donations that will make it possible to do so. This website makes it easy to contribute to this important effort. To donate online, click here.

You can also send a check made out to Citizens for Strong Schools, Inc. to

Citizens for Strong Schools, Inc.
P.O. Box 1071
Gainesville, FL 32602

One hundred percent of your donation will be used to raise awareness and lobby state leaders.

Write letters to the editor

Writing letters to local daily and weekly newspapers is a good way to let your fellow citizens and our leaders know that adequate school funding is essential to the success of our community and our state. Contact information for local newspapers is available here.

Invite us to speak

If you'd like a member of Citizens for Strong Schools to speak at your civic club, neighborhood meeting or other event, please contact chairman Mark McGriff at citizens@yesforalachuaschools.org.

Share what you know with friends, family, coworkers and neighbors, and encourage them to visit this website, then become involved. In the near future, Citizens for Strong Schools will be producing, posting and distributing a one page flier that can be easily shared with others. Keep checking this website for updates.