Jeffrey J. Ralph, Wahpeton

North Dakota is one of very few states with no private school vouchers and no charter schools, and as a result, our public education system is among the best in the country. Despite this, private school voucher advocates try every legislative session to siphon public dollars from public education and send them to private schools. This session is no different.

This session, lawmakers are touting “education savings accounts” as the hot new thing in education. But North Dakotans are smart, and we know if public funds are used to send kids to private school, they’re vouchers. And North Dakotans don’t like that: a recent poll from North Dakota United found 68% of North Dakotans don’t want their taxpayer dollars paying for private school tuition.

I encourage our state legislators to listen to their constituents: don’t funnel public money to private schools. Build up our public institutions and invest in the future of North Dakota by investing in public schools.