Cast informed vote on school projects

Over the years, the League of Women Voters of Wheaton has studied and restudied public education as it is offered in the communities we serve.

Based on these studies the League has adopted a position supporting quality education sufficiently diverse to meet the needs of all students and able to provide a foundation for lifelong learning.

The League has identified keys to achieving these goals:

• Reasonable and appropriate class size

• Teachers and administrators who meet high professional standards

• Teachers and administrators maintained in position for which they are trained

• Mutual trust and communication between the community and the school system

• Quality and equity throughout the system of physical plant, program and materials.

Adequate resources are necessary to accomplish these goals, and while they should include sufficient constitutionally-mandated state funding, a shortfall in these resources should not be at the expense of quality education.

We believe it is in the interest of the entire community to invest in and support public education. Three school districts in our membership area have referendums on the ballot on April 4: Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200, West Chicago High School District 94, and Benjamin District 25. All three are seeking funds for physical plant renovations, maintenance, and facility upgrades to provide the education program that meets the needs of all students, both today and in the future.

We encourage residents in these districts to learn as much as they can about their referendums and to cast an informed vote on April 4.

Patricia Schwarze

President, League of Women Voters of Wheaton