To the editor,

I have lived in the River Falls School District for 37 years. Our two sons graduated from RFSD, where thanks in large part due to the support and encouragement of the highly motivated, professional staff, they have gone on to do very well at UW-Madison and in their chosen careers.

RFSD has always been a fiscally conservative school district and we have been penalized by this when the Republican state legislature put a cap on local school districts raising their taxing authority.

Over 80% of school districts in the state have had to resort to these referendums in order to fund ongoing operations and most building maintenance, improvements and expansion.

I recently attended a lunch with the Superintendent at RF High School and was very impressed with the scope of learning opportunities for students with different learning styles and aptitudes, as well as the very positive attitude of the students we encountered. They can learn a broad range of skills, from computer coding, CNC milling or old fashioned "shop" skills like welding and metalwork in addition to the full range of regular academic disciplines.

Our future economic prosperity and social cohesiveness as a city, state and nation depend on our children having the skills and confidence to go forth and meet the challenges of technological change in an ever more diverse country and with changing world geopolitics. Investing in our schools is perhaps the best investment we can make in the future prosperity of our country. I hope you will join me in voting YES on Feb. 20.

Prescott Bergh

River Falls