Letter to the Editor: Measures H & I Didn’t Pass, But You Can Still Help

JOSEPH DEBUZNA, Founding President of Palisades Elementary Education Foundation

In the March 3 Primary Election vote, the majority has spoken, and while it was somewhat close, neither Measure H nor Measure I passed. I can see both sides of the debate, and even though I’m a parent of a child who attends one of the schools that would have benefited from the funding, I understand and respect both sides of the discussion. At the end of the day, I don’t think anyone is opposed to helping improve the quality of education for local children. I think the real debate is how best to do this.

You still have options to help improve the educational environment for the kids in your community—an option that is targeted and allows you a great deal of control. For those who still want to help, whether you were for Measures H and I or not, you have the option to support your local school by supporting the associated foundation. Almost every school has one and only one, and for the same investment as a Netflix or Spotify subscription, you can make a significant difference.

About two years ago, a few parents and I got motivated enough to start the all-volunteer Palisades Elementary Education Foundation in Capistrano Beach. No one gets paid, the foundation owns no assets, the books are audited monthly, and about 98% of all funds have gone directly to the school targeting the biggest need at this time: Chromebooks, which have become a nationwide cornerstone in the educational ecosystem.

To help you learn more and make an informed decision, we’ve gone ahead and made a list of the foundations directly supporting the local schools that were related to Measures H and I, along with a link to their respective websites. You can find that list at palisadesfoundation.org/family.

We chose “family,” because that’s what we are. We’re a family of families supporting a local family of foundations. If you’d like to donate, make new friends at a fundraiser or get involved in some other way, we’d love to have you.

Thanks for considering this option to support the kids in your local community.