By Ben Lawson
ben@seymourherald.com
As of earlier this week, Seymour Primary School is leading the vote count in the U.S. Cellular “Calling all Communities” campaign.  But they need more support to net Seymour $150,000.
The nationwide contest asks voters to visit a U.S. Cellular store, pick up a voting card and enter a vote every day.  For anyone who is unable to vote every day, the schools are providing voter cards to be filled out with a name, date of birth, address, cell phone number and email address.  Volunteers will be able to do the voting each day for anyone who provides this information.
The schools worked together to help Seymour High School win the previous year by combining their votes.  The focus this year is on the primary school, with all the schools set to benefit if Seymour wins.
Dr. Jan Moore, SPS principal, stressed how critical this money is for furthering the school’s technology.  Currently, out of her 32 teachers, only eight have access to interactive whiteboards in their classrooms.
“I had the teachers write down what they needed most and it was overwhelmingly technology,” Moore said.
But since Seymour schools are not classified as “Title 1,” they receive no extra funding for technology, making fundraisers like this especially important.  The principals worked closely together once the contest was announced to coordinate events aimed at spreading the word, such as announcements at football games, stationing volunteers at local businesses and offering to demonstrate the voting procedure to parents who attended school functions.  SPS has also held contests for teachers and students who bring in voter cards with friends’ or relatives’ information.
Their efforts appear to be paying off, as Seymour recently placed first in votes across the county.
“This contest’s name is ‘Calling all Communities’,” Moore said.  “That’s exactly what our community has done.”
She pointed out that the competition is still strong and Seymour still needs the votes to stay ahead for the Oct. 6 deadline.  The prizes include $50,000 awards and grand prizes of $150,000.  Seymour is aiming for the latter.
“Whether we win the money or not, it’s a compliment that Seymour has come together to help our students,” Moore said.  “We’re winners either way.”

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