Please add my support for the appeal stated by Ron and Tammy Rose in their letter dated July 12, 2008 and as presented to the school board during the July 21, 2008 board meeting. Feel free to contact me directly to confirm my opposition to teacher cutbacks at PGES and NGES for the school year 2008-2009. The only issue at hand is equal access to high-quality education for all students in the Center Grove Community School Corporation. I support the following statement submitted to Dr. Stephanoff by Ron and Tammy Rose on July 28, 2008. Dr. Stephanoff, Wednesday August 6th will be fine. Let\'s meet at 1PM and plan to have all concerned parties available for two hours. We do not want our discussion to be cut short due to time constraints. Some of the original questions from our letter dated July 12, 2008 have not been addressed to date. We feel it would be beneficial for Tammy and I to meet with you prior to the August 6th group meeting. What day will work best for you Our appeal is based on having equal access to high-quality, full time educators for all Center Grove students. We want to confirm that all of the administrators and school board trustees agree with the basic premise that access to high-quality, full time educators is in the best interest of all students. Please have each administrator and school board trustee make an official statement regarding their position on the value of high-quality specials programs for all students throughout Center Grove Community School Corporation prior to our meeting on August 6th, 2008. The issue at hand is regarding how we utilize the available general funds for the proposed staffing plan during the 2008-2009 school year. We want to make sure we are all on the same page regarding the value of specials programs at Center Grove. We won\'t spend time justifying the value of art, music, physical education, tech lab, or media programs in public education during the group meeting. One has to look no further than the July 27, 2008 Indianapolis Star Newspaper, Section E, page E1, article by Matthew B. Carter, \"Music at the Crossroads\", to find empirical data regarding the positive affects on students who are inspired by the arts. It is impossible within the time constraints at hand for us to debate the value of special programs for all students. We need to know that our administrators and school board trustees place a high value on high-quality programs throughout the Center Grove Community School Corporation. In return we ask that your staff forgoes lengthy discussions about student ratios or minutes of classroom instruction. This discussion is focused on the inequity of part time educators for some students versus full time educators for others. There is no other solution that provides equal access to high-quality education for all students. The basis of our appeal is that NGES and PGES students do not have equal access to high-quality education provided by law. The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Right article: \"Ensuring Equal Access To High-Quality Education\", can be found out this link. http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ensure03.html The question at hand is how we can fund those positions within the constraints of the general fund We are also looking to the Center Grove Education Foundation for assistance and leadership in this matter. The article written by Jason M. White on the front page of the Daily Journal dated July 23rd, 2008 has brought attention to the issue and provided information not available to the parents and citizens of Center Grove to date. Tammy and I are thrilled with the number of parents and citizen\'s who are getting involved with this appeal process. We have been asked to begin a petition in support of equal access to high-quality education for all Center Grove Community School Corporation students. We hope to have that petition drive well underway by the time we meet on August 6th, 2008. Best Regards, Ron & Tammy Rose CC: Center Grove Parents and Citizens Daily Journal Indianapolis Star Center Grove Education Foundation

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