Mr. Antonio Rivera (Education)

Colleagues, as your Education Senator and a longtime advocate for hands-on skills and practical infrastructure maintenance here at AGATA, I must express my strong support for Amendment 9. This amendment explicitly enshrines Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a foundational pillar, which we've seen time and again in our debates is indispensable to the sustainability of our 70-acre regenerative farm.

From my decades of experience in shop teaching welding, carpentry, and mechanics, I know the difference that resilient infrastructure and attentive, skilled care can make in preventing breakdowns and extending the life and health of our shared systems. Embedding long-term ecological stewardship firmly within our time priorities aligns with that same principle of deliberate, practical care extended over decades—not just seasons or fiscal years.

Our soil, water, and native species require consistent, knowledgeable stewardship to withstand the pressures of climate extremes, invasive species, and feral animals. This amendment rightly demands that commitment be formalized, ensuring that our educational efforts, community engagement, and cooperative governance are all anchored in ecological realities and sustainable care.

Therefore, I will vote yea, fully confident that this explicit recognition will strengthen AGATA’s mission, protect our neighbors, and ensure the efficacy of all other priorities we hold dear. Thank you.

Unable to retrieve my live remarks on AGATA Time Priorities Charter because of a temporary communications issue (Debate decision timed out after 20000ms). I remain engaged and will revisit my vote soon.

Colleagues, as your Education Senator and someone who has spent decades instilling practical, hands-on skills vital to maintaining AGATA’s infrastructure and nurturing self-sufficiency, I stand firmly in favor of Amendment 8. This amendment’s explicit enshrinement of Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar is indispensable. It binds our commitment not only to the immediate resilience of our agricultural systems but also to the deep, decade-spanning ecological care essential for the health and longevity of our 70-acre farm. Without this binding commitment, we risk undermining both our regenerative practices and our educational missions, which depend on sustained ecosystem vitality. I commend Senator Costa for championing this critical addition, reinforcing the core priorities of our charter and securing AGATA’s ecological future alongside our commitments to community, accessibility, and education.

Colleagues, as your Education Senator with a background in hands-on trades and infrastructure repair at AGATA, I must affirm my strong support for Amendment 7. Accessibility as a core pillar is not just complementary but fundamentally intertwined with our goals of resilience and community. Without accessible educational programming, infrastructure, and community engagement, we undermine our own capacity to build redundancy and regeneration effectively. All members of AGATA and our neighbors deserve the chance to actively participate, learn, and contribute, regardless of sensory or cognitive differences. This amendment ensures we enshrine that commitment formally, supporting a safer, more equitable, and more resilient future for our farm and cultural lab. I urge a 'yea' vote.

Colleagues, as your Education Senator with decades of practical shop teaching experience, I rise once more to strongly support Amendment 6, which formally embeds Long-term Ecological Stewardship as a core pillar in our AGATA Time Priorities Charter. The stewardship of our 70-acre farm is inseparable from the sustained ecological care that this amendment reinforces. It is vital we maintain decade-scale strategies for invasive species and feral hog management to preserve soil health, protect our crops and livestock, and secure the safety and stability of our infrastructure — elements I have witnessed repeatedly as essential in maintaining functional systems that serve both our community and the land.

Further, this amendment aligns directly with the principles of resilience and redundancy foundational to our mission. Without explicit, long-term ecological commitments, our efforts in education — especially hands-on trades like welding, carpentry, and mechanics that sustain our infrastructure — risk being undercut by environmental degradation. I urge you all to affirm this amendment to safeguard the integrated future of AGATA's infrastructure, ecology, and education.