LEVY: Yes for key resources

We should vote yes for our supplemental levy in Post Falls on May 18.

Yes, there are reforms and ways we can be more efficient in our state’s public school system. We should recognize areas where we can save money as in administrative costs vs. teacher pay. It’s more cost-effective for us to fund education at the state level, which happens to be mandated under our state Constitution. We should also work to see greater autonomy for our teachers with less emphasis on standardized tests and more focus on student learning.

Most of our school board have had careers as educators. We need to listen to what our teachers require for better outcomes. The board saw a need for our very modest levy to continue. It doesn’t raise our property taxes but would have helped us maintain our schools as we move out of the pandemic and get back to normal. I think we all want that.

We shouldn’t be too critical of our teachers’ job performance during this pandemic. Our teachers had to figure out remote learning and hone their skills in different ways to try and make it all work. All for our children. I do believe the reason we are not seeing worse outcomes in our state is because of the hard work of our teachers. Imagine what they could do if they had the tools, resources and freedom to succeed. Let’s give them those resources by voting yes on May 18.

CHRISTOPHER MATTHEWS

Post Falls