The below Letter to the Editor from Katie appeared in the Mesquite Citizen Journal:
The Soldiers I served with in Afghanistan were the first to teach me just how much extraordinary times truly bring out the best that America has to offer. A whole new meaning to the term hero is being born out of the coronavirus pandemic across America. We owe our all to the hospitals where our medical professionals are in the direct line of fire to the essential service workers who are keeping our communities running. The line of heroism does not stop there; we are seeing people going out of their way and out of pocket to help their fellow neighbors in ways we had not seen before.
Our education system is not exempt to this trend, where our community has stepped up to the task of helping Clark County’s students. Just last Monday, Superintendent Jara estimated that the district needed 120,000 Chromebooks to ensure coverage for students to be able to continue their education. By Friday, the District had found funds for 46,000. Superintendent Jara had also announced then that funds for an additional 74,000 devices would be brought in from private donations through a partnership with the Public Education Foundation. From there, businesses have pledged money, and the City of Henderson has even stepped up with $200,000 for the task. From there, private fundraisers and nonprofit entities have pledged to assist in acquiring Chromebooks for the district.
The Clark County community is stepping up in an extraordinary fashion, and it makes me proud. As a member of our community and as a mother of a daughter who enters Clark County Schools next year, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of those who have given and who will give to ensure our students are able to get the one-on-one instruction necessary to continue their learning, growth and development.
–Katie Williams is a candidate for the Clark County School District Board of Trustees in District B