Schools need the mill levy to pass, Cook says

Citizens Promoting Libby Schools is a group of folks concerned that our schools are at a breaking point. 

Our schools, teachers and activities have been pared down because of reduced funding and without the levy, more drastic cuts are certain.

We know the economic realities of Libby and have hope for a better future. Even with our economic turmoil, we are proud to have the state’s highest graduation rate. This accomplishment was no small feat but maintaining this success is just as critical and will be more challenging.

Schools today are not the schools of yesterday. Visit a classroom today and compare what is required of students and teachers now to your classroom of the same grade. Today’s classes have 16 to 26 students.  Larger classes were the old norm but federal and state control of standards, regulations and procedures have impacted our local classrooms.

We can debate the wisdom of these changes but cannot pretend they do not impact the processes and costs of educating. We can discuss appropriate pay for quality staffing as voters carefully select the school board members who will oversee these costs. We can debate how we got in the current situation and how to avoid it in the future. None of these debates changes the current budget reality addressed by the levy. If the levy fails, more young teachers with the lowest wages will be terminated, classroom sizes will increase, and student options for activities that can keep them in school will decrease.     

Cutting fat and even some meat has been necessary, but we think we are now hitting bone and threatening the system that helps our kids succeed. This is not just a problem for students, but for hope of a better tomorrow for Libby. 

Libby needs jobs. That means job creators must consider Libby as a viable place to locate. Without fail, among the first questions asked by prospective employers is “do you have good schools?” The value of our current answer “yes” cannot be overstated. If you have school-aged children and were contemplating a business move to Libby and learned that “the schools are struggling,” how quickly would you drop Libby as a candidate? 

In short, we see this levy not as an endorsement of past district actions but as a necessary step at a critical crossroads for Libby’s quality schools. Libby has a long and proud history of providing our youth a great education and that single fact is incredibly important if we hope to build a healthy economic tomorrow for Libby and Libby’s children. 

Please support this levy. A healthy discussion with the elected school board can then proceed, and we can continue to tell interested entrepreneurs that “yes, we do have good schools.”