[Durham INC] Please vote for Transit & Education referenda on Tuesday Nov. 8

[John Schelp]

Dear Durham Neighbors,
 
Please Vote for the Transit and Education
Sales Tax Referendaon Tuesday November 8. Both votes will have a major impact on the
future direction of Durham 
Both taxes exclude items such as food,
medicine and housing. 43% if these taxes will be paid bynon Durham 
residents.
 
Support for Public Transit: ½Cent Sales Tax
	* Job Growth and Economic Development: the bus, light rail and commuter rail plan will bring more than $ 1 billion of federal investment into our area and will create more than 1600 job. Better public transit between Durham , Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Wake County will also give people who don’t own cars access to more job opportunities.
	* Smart Growth: the public transit corridors will help us plan for the more than 1 million more people expected to come to our region in the next 30 years, prevent sprawl, reduce traffic jams and air pollution, and keep Durham an attractive place for people to live and work.
Support for Education:¼ Cent Sales Tax
	* 150 Teaching Positions: State funding for Durham Public Schools has been dramatically cut over the past five years and recent federal funds for teaching positions will run out this year. This tax will help prevent the loss of further teaching positions as DPS has already lost many teachers and schools have been impacted by loss of course selections, over worked teachers and overcrowded classrooms.
	* Work Study Program at Durham  Tech:Tuition at Durham Tech has increased due to state budget cuts. These funds will offer Work Study scholarships to students to help them complete their degree program at Durham Tech.
	* Early Childhood Education:Smart Start and More at Four programs have been cut by the state legislature. Research shows that early education is the most important indicator of future success in school. These funds will help make up for the funding gap and provide preschool education for eligible Durham children.
 
Please forward this email and ask your neighbors and
friends to VOTE YES for Public Transit and Education for Durham !  Let’s make sure Durham is a great place to
live for everyone now and in the future!
 
Please see below for more information and links to websites.
 
Wendy Jacobs
Erwin Area Neighborhood Group
 
A Vote
for Durham’s Future
 
On Tuesday, you have an opportunity to vote for two referenda that are critical to Durham ’s future. Both Durham and the Triangle region will
experience tremendous growth in
the next 30 years. The population in the Triangle is projected to double in
size and Durham County will add over 160,000 people and
over 110,000 jobs. 


Vehicle miles travelled are also expected to double,leading
to much worse congestion even with all the planned road improvements.  The
improvements funded by the ½ cent sales tax
for transit will provide mobility options for our growing population
and will help channel some of the new growth into walkable mixed use
developments near station areas. The plan includes expanded bus service; more
dial-a-ride service for the elderly and disabled; commuter rail to Research Triangle  Park , Raleigh 
and beyond by 2018; and light rail serving central Durham ,
Duke, south Durham , Chapel Hill , and UNC by 2025.  The average household would spend
only $54/year on this tax (it does not apply to food, medicine, gas, utilities,
and housing.) 

The ¼ cent sales tax that is dedicated to education would fund
a continuum of educational services from pre-K to college. The pre-K funds
would replace the funding cut by the state for More at Four. With the loss of
federal stimulus funds, many school employees will lose their jobs without
replacement funding. Due to four years of successive tuition increases, Durham
Tech is becoming unaffordable so there would be work/study assistance for high
school graduates. The last component would fund debt service on new school
construction relieving pressure on the property tax.

Passage of these two referenda would diversify our revenues (visitors
would pay 43% of the tax) and help assure that Durham has a prosperous future by enhancing mobility and preparing our
young people for the jobs of the future. For more information go to: http://www.durhamorangefriendsoftransit.org/ and www.durhamcountync.gov 

Please vote Nov 8 – the vote
may be close so your vote is very important!
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