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As we ready ourselves to vote on a school levy next month, I would ask you to wade through the quagmire of negativity and fake news carefully.

It may be true that students can learn in older buildings using decades-old textbooks and poorly functioning technology. While large class sizes, lack of sports and the arts would not necessarily prohibit learning, they are not a recipe for student success, either. So if the question is, how do we effectively prepare students for the future in which they will live? Then the best answer is not related to how low can we fiscally go, but how high can our community’s children soar if we keep eliminating the reasons they want to stay in school and learn all they can?

Every community needs young professionals to help keep its citizens safe, healthy and continually learning. With that in mind, it should be our town’s top priority to educate our students well, so that we can attract skilled, caring and dedicated workers and their families to keep our community intact. Our district’s schools have a great reputation; our student populations are doing an excellent job because of our community’s support and our highly-trained staff. That should be a source of pride, not something that divides us. Thank you for making an informed decision on March 14.

CAROLYN WHALEN

Sandpoint