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Thursday, November 03, 2005

My Thoughts On Public Education

I am a parent of a high school student in a relatively small rural community. Like so many other communities in our state and probably the country, school budgets are tight. As is common at this time of the year, the voters of the community are being asked to vote on a levy referendum to support the rising cost and needs of the students. Equally as common this year are the letters both for and against a levy referendum.

The letters that frustrate me the most are the letters basically accusing our school officials of being idiots. These letters attack the school officials for not working within a budget, for funding arbitrary projects and maintaining unnecessary programs. School board members are voted into office to manage our schools for the greatest benefit of our youth. It is the job of the school board to scrutinize every expenditure. The board must weigh the benefit and need of each program to justify the monies allocated.

Letter writers refer to the fact that they have growing expenses. Those very same expenses are growing for our school district at the very same rate. Transportation and heating cost quickly come to mind. Diesel prices are over a dollar a gallon higher than what I pay to gas in my car. The old school buildings can hardly be an example of energy efficiency. Teachers and support staff want a fair wage like everyone else. Books and equipment must be replaced.

To compete academically our schools need to continually invest in programs that will challenge the students. If our kids are not challenged in our schools they will not be prepared to meet the challenges that lie ahead of them in life. Whether their future is leads them to college or to learn a trade, a good education is the foundation that will support them as they move forward.

To the argument that too much time and money is invested in programs that go beyond the old standards of reading, writing and arithmetic I couldn’t disagree more. Especially in small rural schools, we need to expose our youth to as many new experiences and opportunities as we can. Not only are we preparing the students to face the world beyond our state lines, but for those students who choose to stay close to home we need to provide them with new ways to look at old problems. These are the students who will become our future city councilmen and women, our mayor and our school board members.

We can not get away from taxes. But the tax monies spent on schools are the best investment we can make. I may not personally see the benefit of tax money spent towards educating that little kid making all the noise down the block. But maybe that same little kid will become the police officer that comes to my aide when I hear a suspicious noise in my back yard late at night.

Minnesota has a proud history of being a leader in public education. I hope to be a supporter of education in Minnesota for the rest of my life. Whether that support is through taxes, buying wrapping paper or getting my car washed for a fund raiser or sitting in the stands of a local high school athletic event, I want to be involved. Our youth deserve the best we can offer them. The first step is a yes vote for public education.

1 Comments:

Blogger Cindy's Closet said...

Very well thought out and written comments Paul! I agree whole heartedly! I'm so impressed with your updates lately. You must have more time on your hands. Thanks for your wonderful comments on my blog too! I enjoy hearing from you!

10:54 PM  

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