As a retired Campbell Union High School Superintendent and educator for 40 years representing high school students in Campbell, San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Santa Clara, I believe Measure A is essential to Santa Clara County.
It generates funds that cannot be taken by the state. Every dollar will be spent for local priorities, not programs chosen by Sacramento or Washington.
One in four county residents depends on high quality health care at Valley Medical Center. Any one of us may unexpectedly require its life-saving specialty units. Each week, premature babies win the battle for survival at its neo-natal intensive care unit. Measure A will help Valley Medical Center be there when we need it most.
The spectacularly effective Healthy Kids program provides health insurance for low-income children. When students receive regular health care, they avoid more serious illnesses and miss less school. Healthy Kids faces cutbacks if additional funding cannot be located. That’s where Measure A comes in.
Communicable diseases have to be controlled. The County Health Department prevents the spread of whooping cough, tuberculosis, HIV, and new varieties of influenza. School children are often the first to be affected by the spreading of illnesses and this must be avoided at all cost.
We are all better off when we use local resources to meet critical local needs. Please join me in voting for Measure A on Election Day.
—By Dr. Rhonda E. Farber
