It's time once again for the communities whose children are educated by the Pecos Independent Schools District to answer the call and support the education of our children and vote in favor of the bond initiative this March. The need and the importance of passing this initiative cannot be overstated.

Those with legitimate questions and concerns, please make the effort to have them addressed and make a decision based on facts, not rumor and innuendo. There's opposition to supporting our children based on personal dislike of the current PISD administration. If the entire administrative staff were fired tomorrow, they'd all either retire comfortably or find jobs within other school districts, and our teachers and students would still be faced with tremendous financial needs. Voting against our children doesn't hurt the administration at all; voting no only hurts our children. What kind of administrators could we expect to attract to a district whose communities consistently vote to hurt our children?

We've all seen the recent news reports of how many school districts are misspending — and some flat out stealing — district funds. The state auditor recently admonished several school districts from Mora to West Las Vegas to Bernalillo to Albuquerque for not spending their allocated funds efficiently and/or appropriately. The fact that PISD wasn't called out by the state auditor, combined with the fact that PISD audits have been excellent (and not to mention of public record) for the past several years speaks volumes as to how the district has been and is being run financially.

There are no back-room, under-the-table financial goings-on in PISD. These are facts that can be independently verified. Those who have questions or concerns about district finances should take the time to find out for themselves.

As a parent and a tax-paying community member, I urge voters to support our children's best asset to achieve the future they want and deserve, their education.

Grady Barrens is a former school board member with children enrolled in the PISD. He lives in Pecos.