There are powerful people who do not believe our public schools are doing a very good job of preparing today’s students for the challenges they will face tomorrow.
They have ideas about taking funds from our schools and shifting them to private schools in the form of vouchers, so kids can have more choices.
This might sound like an attractive option, but it will not help the vast majority of students. The people it will most likely help are those who already have stable families and resources to help their students succeed.
It’s the old “rich get richer” saying coming into play. The students who get left behind will have fewer resources to help them if taxpayer money gets shifted to private schools.
This is unconstitutional in Michigan. Michigan voters have already emphatically said no to such “choices” and if the matter comes to a vote again, we must stand up for the public schools that helped make America great.
Some people say “again” after that last phrase. America never once stopped being great, in my personal opinion.
My family and I are products of that great public school system. I’m thankful every single day for the teachers, the professors, the knowledge, and skills I gained from these places, all public, taxpayer funded Michigan institutions:
• Eastside School
• Niles Junior High
• Niles Senior High
• The University of Michigan
• Wayne State University
• Western Michigan University
Can we do a better job in our public K-12 schools? Most certainly, we can and we must. I see teachers and principals every day who care about students and work hard to make school count for them. I see students who want to learn and make their own lives better.
But, the job is never finished.
Our public schools offer the greatest gift and opportunity to change the lives of our children. We cannot and must not ever take that gift for granted, or let it be taken away in the name of “choice” or “vouchers”.

John Jarpe is the superintendent of Brandywine Community Schools. He can be reached at (269) 684- 7150.