To the editor,

Local electioneering has begun, and I very much appreciate this newspaper’s efforts to try to get the truth named accurately, and in all its complexity. We voters, to fully understand what is at stake, are going to have to practice our very best critical thinking skills—skills we probably learned in our public education classrooms!

One of the major decisions our country made hundreds of years ago was that we needed an educated citizenry if we were to truly become a democracy and not a mob. While we have not always been wise enough to include everyone equally in our educational systems, we need to keep working toward our national vision of educating everyone.

Recent efforts to severely limit public school funding in Wisconsin are meant to severely limit public education – period.

When our state legislature last year chose to fund private education students at a higher rate than public education students, it was attacking one of the most basic premises of our US democracy. When the legislature froze funding formulas way back in the 90s, they were attacking public education. When critics complain about a school system still trying to serve all their students, including those with special needs, they are attacking the American democracy’s ideal of educating every child to become a responsible adult voting citizen.

In River Falls, we will soon be able vote in favor of our school district’s ongoing commitment to educate all the children in our community. The River Falls School District has long been and continues to be a very frugal steward of our citizen dollars. Because I want to live in a community of fully educated citizens, I look forward to supporting RFSD by voting “yes” on Feb. 20!

Rebecca Ferguson

River Falls