SCHOOLS: Pay it forward

In his Oct. 3 My Turn column, Post Falls School Board Chair Neil Uhrig used a phrase that struck a chord with me: Pay It Forward.

Those three words capture something important about who we are at our best as a community.

I am a Baby Boomer. I grew up in the 1950s and ’60s, when communities were building schools to accommodate a generation of children. People understood that building strong schools meant building a stronger future.

My grandparents were part of that generation. My grandfather worked at Kaiser Aluminum; my grandmother was a schoolteacher. They were members of what we now call the Greatest Generation. They believed that contributing to their community was not simply an obligation—it was a privilege. They paid their taxes, supported their schools and invested in children.

I am 72 years old. I have no children in public schools. But I benefited from people who came before me who did pay it forward. Their willingness to invest in schools gave me opportunities. My children benefited, too.

Now it is our turn.

Paying it forward means recognizing that our responsibility doesn’t end when our own children graduate. We owe something to the children who come after us, just as previous generations owed something to us.

On Nov. 3, we have an opportunity to honor this tradition. Join me in paying it forward—for our children, our grandchildren and the generations we will never meet. It is a responsibility worth embracing together.

Vote YES for the Post Falls School District levy and the Coeur d’Alene School District levy.

This is what community looks like. This is us at our best.

MICHELLE LIPPERT

Former Chair of the Post Falls School Board