We all want our children to have a great education. Our family-centered community wants to see every child learn and grow and succeed.

The education that’s available in our communities is being threatened.

For the lack of 38 votes last year, the RSU 18 school budget failed to pass, and our district lost more than $1 million as a result. Every teacher’s salary was cut. We lost budgets for basic building maintenance, computer repairs and lots of extracurricular opportunities for our kids.

Professional development — a category that includes the bus drivers’ safety training that recently helped a Sidney bus driver save a kindergartner from choking to death — was cut dramatically.

It is important that every single voter in Oakland, Belgrade, China, Sidney and Rome who values education comes out to vote yes on the school district budget. The vote will be held at regular polling places on Tuesday.

If we value our children’s education, we must support it and not allow it to be weakened by further cuts. We can keep our region’s reputation for being a wonderful place for families to live, a place where our children will be successful in learning, successful in working, and proud to stay and raise their own families.

Emily Shaw

Oakland

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