120 Hours to Go -- All Hands on Y+YY Deck

Can you  believe we have 120 (actually 117) hours left in the  campaign?  And, we need All Hands on Deck!  Please make time in  the next 120 hours to help with Yes on Y+YY GOTV (Get Out the Vote)  Activities.

Please call the campaign office at 310.210.3187 to volunteer for a shift or three.  Just an hour of your time in these last crucial days could make the difference!

The full schedule of Volunteer Activities is  below.  My personal favorite is 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Election Day, to  place doorhangers on our supporters' doorknobs in the wee hours before the  polls open.  Come to the Campaign Office at 5 a.m. for this exciting  opportunity -- then, if you can, stay all day and be a Poll  Watcher!

Please....recruit friends, colleagues, family members,  tennis partners, fellow alumni, neighbors, and anyone else you can think of.   We DO make the DIFFERENCE!

Thank you so much for all the  leadership, support and efforts for the last three months!   


FRIDAY – October 29th
On sidewalks outside  school sites:  Hand out walk flyer  and wave signs
At PTA events or from  sidewalks:  Sell or hand out Y + YY  trick or treat bags
Phone bank: 11 am  to 9 pm  at Yes on Y+YY Office –  3000 Ocean Park Blvd 3005

SATURDAY- October 30th
Need 45 people to  walk and 20 Phone Bankers for GOTV calls every hour.
Walk -  Franklin: 2400 Montana Ave – 10 am to 5 pm
Walk  - Grant: 2368 Pearl St – 10 am to 5 pm
Phone bank: 10 am to 5 pm – Yes on Y+YY  Office

SUNDAY- October 31st
Need 45 people to walk and 20  Phone Bankers for GOTV calls every hour.
Walking from Y and YY  Office:  Starting at 10 am and  Noon
Phone bank: 10 am to 5 pm – Yes  on Y+YY Office

Monday – November 1st
Need 45 people to  doorhang and 30 Phone Bankers for GOTV calls every hour.
Phone  bank: 9 am to 9 pm – Yes on Y+YY Office
Door hanging: 4 pm to 9 pm – Start  at Yes on Y+YY Office
School Sites: Please hand out flyers “Action Alert”  and ½ sheet “Please Remember to Vote” during drop off and  pickup

ELECTION DAY November 2nd
Need 75 people to doorhang,   70 walkers all day  and 20 Phone Bankers every hour.
Door hanging: 5 am to 7 am – Yes on Y+YY  Office
Walking: 8 am to 8 pm for All day shift – Other shifts: 9 am to 1  pm, 1 pm to 5 pm,  4 pm to 8  pm
Phone bank:  9 am to 8 pm- Please bring your own cell  phone
School Sites: Please hand out  flyers “Action Alert” and ½ sheet “Please Remember to Vote” during drop off  only.

Election Alert! From Community for Excellent Public Schools

COMMUNITY FOR EXCELLENT PUBLIC SCHOOLS This is an URGENT CALL TO ACTION to all parents with children in Santa Monica Malibu public schools.  Many of you joined CEPS in working to pass Measure A, a school funding measure that failed by the slimmest of margins, and then on Save Our Schools over the summer to provide emergency bridge funding for this school year only. WE NEED YOUR HELP IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS TO PREVENT ANOTHER CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOLS.   Santa Monica Propositions Y + YY will be decided in the November 2nd election.  If passed, they will generate roughly $6 million per year for our schools that cannot be taken away by Sacramento.  The cost for us is equivalent to a few cups of coffee a month.  But the revenues will be a long-term lifeline for our schools! BUT PROPOSITIONS Y + YY WILL NOT PASS WITHOUT YOUR HELP TODAY! The Prop Y + YY opposition, the same people who have opposed all school funding measures, is working hard to promote their misleading campaign.  While Measures Y + YY are supported by CEPS, PTA, SMRR, the teachers, police and firefighters associations and thousands of Santa Monica leaders (see Y+YY's many endorments), the opposition can still defeat Y + YY unless we mount an enormous grass roots effort today.  It will take all of us to make sure voters understand the importance of these measures. TAKE ACTION TODAY!   VOLUNTEER JUST TWO HOURS TO PASS Y + YY  Join CEPS, teachers, PTA, school board members and everyone who cares about protecting our schools on precinct walks, October 23, 27 & 30.  The campaign also urgently needs your help phone banking each and every day till November 2.  DONATE  We are critically short of raising the budget needed to pass Y + YY.  Voters will vote “no” on funding increases they don’t know enough about.  Your contribution today will allow us to let voters know how important Y + YY are for our community. VOTE – The November 2nd election could be the most important election we’ve ever had for local public schools.  CEPS has endorsed the candidates we feel we can trust to protect our schools. KEEP INFORMED – STRONG ADVOCACY BEGINS WITH INFORMATION.  CEPS ENDORSED CANDIDATES   Community for Excellent Public schools urges you to make informed decisions and, most importantly, VOTE on November 2nd.  CEPS enthusiastically endorses, not only Propositions Y + YY, but also these candidates, who all have strong and trusted track records for their education advocacy.  CEPS endorsements and Candidates Statements here.   CEPS is proud to support the following candidates:   Santa Monica City Council  Two-year race Gleam Davis & Terry O’Day   Santa Monica City Council  Four-year race Ted Winterer,Pam O’Connor,  Bob Holbrook, & Kevin McKeown   Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Board of Education Laurie Lieberman, Ralph Mechur, Barry Snell & Oscar de la Torre       STATE OF OUR SCHOOLS EVENT   Please join us for the fifth-annual State of Our Schools event takes place Monday, October 25 in Santa Monica and October 26 in Malibu.   Hear Superintendent Tim Cuneo make the annual State of Our Schools report about SMMUSD achievements, challenges, and funding.  In addition, Santa Monica City Manager Rod Gould will speak at the Santa Monica event about city and school district partnership.   Monday, October 25, 2010                              Tuesday, October 26, 2010 6:00-9:00pm                                                    6:00-9:00pm Santa Monica Main Library                              Malibu High School Library Martin Luther King, Jr., Auditorium               601 Santa Monica Blvd.                                      30215 Morning View Dr. Santa Monica 90401                                          Malibu 90265

EXTRA! CEPS makes endorsements for November 2nd Election

Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS)

Endorsements for November 2^nd Election

September 30, 2010, SANTA MONICA–Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) has made endorsements in local races that will be decided by voters on November 2^nd.  The decade-old education-focused Political Action Committee has endorsed:

Yes on Santa Monica Propositions Y + YY

Santa Monica City Council  Two-year race

Gleam Davis and Terry O’Day

Santa Monica City Council  Four-year race

Bob Holbrook, Kevin McKeown, Pam O’Connor and Ted Winterer

Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Board of Education

Laurie Lieberman, Ralph Mechur, Barry Snell and Oscar de la Torre

CEPS’s endorsements were made by its Steering Committee after its education-based candidate’s forum on Monday.  A primary criteria in the Santa Monica City Council races were candidates positions on city propositions Y + YY.  All CEPS endorsed candidates expressed at the forum their support for both Proposition Y, a half-percent transaction and use tax that would bring additional revenues into city coffers, and Proposition YY, a companion advisory measure that asks the City Council to direct half of increased revenues generated by Proposition Y to local schools, with the other half benefitting vital City services.

In addition, all CEPS endorsed City Council Candidates stated, unequivocally, at the forum that should Propositions Y + YY pass, they would support allocating the full 50% of increased revenues to SMMUSD schools, with that allocation being added to and not supplant the current funding generated by the Joint Use Agreement between the City of Santa Monica and SMMUSD.

CEPS noted the longtime service of Bob Holbrook, Pam O’Connor and Kevin McKeown to the City of Santa Monica and their many accomplishments in citywide and regional issues, along with their consistent support for our local public schools.  The group also felt that Ted Winterer, a  SMMUSD parent and Santa Monica Planning Commissioner, is a strong advocate for education and would  be a valuable addition to the City Council.

In the School Board election, CEPS wanted to support the three incumbents in the race, Oscar de la Torre, Ralph Mechur and School Board President, Barry Snell, as a vote of confidence for the direction and positive moves currently underway within the District.  Each of these incumbents had a strong role to play in Special Education reform, guiding the district through its recent budget crises, and helping develop the focus and goals for the district, which has just seen a significant rise in student test scores.

For the final endorsed seat, CEPS has supported longtime education activist, Laurie Lieberman, who it feels will add a strong, new, and extremely knowledgeable voice to the SMMUSD Board of Education.