Voices for Education: Jim Church

Jim Church with his wife, Julie

We find ourselves once again in the middle of a struggle to pass an operating levy in Mountain View School District 244. It concerns me that for several years now, we have been unable to pass a levy to maintain the current level of programs and opportunities for our children. We now have exhausted all of our financial reserves and are faced with closing schools, providing no extracurricular activities, laying off teachers and much more if the levy fails.

In the State of Idaho, school funding is a complicated thing. The state provides the majority of funding for local school districts to operate, however, the amount of money they provide the schools is not nearly enough funding to fully cover all the expenses that are needed to operate. Therefore, local school districts have to ask the patrons in the district to make up the difference.

Many people have suggested that the state should pay for all the costs of running the schools, but I disagree with this argument. Should the amount the state kicks in be higher? I would say yes, but I don’t want the state to pay for everything and have complete control over the local schools. Education and dare I say government, is the best when there is local input and control. I want the local people (us) to have control of our schools. These are our schools and we should take great pride in our schools and do everything we can to provide a high-quality education for our children. This includes supporting the schools by voting yes for the operating levy.

These are our schools and we should take great pride in our schools and do everything we can to provide a high-quality education for our children.

Dr. Ben Carson, former Republican Presidential Candidate and Neurosurgeon said this in May of 2015 about the importance of education: “Education is the fundamental principle of what makes America a success. It is the foundation of what truly makes our country the land of opportunity.” Dr. Carson is a very wise man. This is true for local communities as well. A strong school and a high-quality education for the children is what makes a community a success and provides opportunity for economic prosperity and growth of that community.

President Abraham Lincoln also valued education highly and said: “Upon the subject of education, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.”

I would hope that you see how valuable strong schools are to our children, their future success and the future success and growth of our communities. Please join me in supporting OUR schools and communities by voting yes on the Mountain View School District 244 levy.

Jim Church

Grangeville, Idaho