“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The American dream rises out of these words in our nation’s Declaration of Independence. Since its origin, this nation’s promise has been to provide the opportunity for all citizens to realize their dreams, regardless of background. Public education keeps the American dream alive. Quality public schools for even our poorest children give them the hope to rise above their circumstances and challenge those in positions of privilege for the fruits of our nation’s prosperity.

The quality of education that a student receives has a great impact on their ability to realize their own American dream. And while money alone will not assure quality education, money goes a long way in providing skilled staff, functional facilities, specialized programs, and current instructional materials for its students The reality is that quality education, not just adequate education, costs money.

Schools depend on federal, state, and local funding. We may complain about the neglect from the national and state level, yet we have the opportunity to uphold our local commitment to funding the education of our children in Oak Harbor: to support the two Oak Harbor School levies on March 10 is to support the American dream for the children in our community.

There are many arguments to support or reject these levies. The bottom line is that education for students in Oak Harbor will improve if the levies pass, and it will suffer if the levies fail. While we throw stones at each other arguing about the pros and cons of the levies from our glass houses, the shards will fall on our youth, innocent bystanders to our squabble.

Let us keep a good thing going and pass both school levies on March 10.

Bill Weinsheimer

Oak Harbor