Your vote on November 7 could have a dramatic impact on our children’s futures. Have you made your plan to vote?
Mississippi’s coffers are flush with hefty financial reserves, so it’s more important than ever to elect folks who believe that our public schools deserve adequate funding, that public funds should be restricted to accountable public schools, and that teachers deserve another raise. Please urge every public school supporter you know to get to the polls on November 7 and vote for candidates who share their values.
With school choice materializing as the biggest threat to public school budgets, this election could have serious consequences for public education. The politicians who support private school voucher schemes aren’t advertising that in their campaigns, so it’s time to start asking questions. Like where they stand on school choice. Ask candidates if they support or oppose using public dollars to pay tuition at private schools that choose which students they’ll allow in, or for such “educational choices” as big screen TVs, car stereos, and trips to Disney World as school choice provides in other states. If you can’t get a straight answer from a candidate, scroll through Facebook and look for the telltale yellow scarves – the mark of the school choice privatizers.
Make sure candidates know that with school choice, it’s the private schools that do the choosing – they pick the students they want and send taxpayers the bill, while denying admission to students they say aren’t “a good fit.”
Anyone age 65 or older, and those who can’t get to the polls on Election Day, should vote absentee this week at their County Circuit Clerk’s office. Circuit Clerks’ offices are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be open this Saturday, November 4, from 8 a.m. to noon.
This week be sure to:
- Check your voter registration (word is that lots of voters have been removed)
- Find your polling place
- Review candidates’ opinions about public school issues on our Candidate Q&A – pay close attention to responses to question 4 regarding voucher programs that send taxpayer dollars to pay tuition at private schools
- Vote absentee now at your Circuit Clerk’s office if you’re 65 or older or can’t get to the polls next Tuesday
- Ask 5 friends to join you at the polls
- Text, email, or call family and friends and urge them to vote for public school supporters
We’ve come too far to back up now. Please be sure to vote for public school supporters at the polls on November 7. And take a couple of friends or family with you. Let’s pull out all the stops and show our kids and teachers that we’ve got their backs.
Together, we’ve got this!
