Vote ‘yes’ for education and Montana’s future

High-quality schools and education are critical to current and future economic development in western Montana. We see this every day as small-business owners.

The importance of quality education grows as technology changes the way we do our jobs. We need employees who have skills for the 21st century workplace. We need employees who are well-rounded and who intuitively know how to appropriately apply technology. We rely on our public school system to prepare them with the skills we need today and the ability to develop in the future.

That is why we have joined together to form a new organization – Friends of Public Education – dedicated to supporting the public education system we require in the business world.

We ask you to vote "yes" on your mail-in ballot for elementary and high school mill levies. These levies provide important funding for our schools. Without this financial support, our quality of public education will deteriorate. We cannot afford that disruption in a fragile time for the recovery of our local economy.

Growing local business is one of the fundamental goals of economic development. To do this, industries rely on a quality labor pool. Another important economic goal for Missoula is attracting national firms to our area. Quality schools are one of the first considerations that large businesses screen for when relocating – an amenity that will not exist without adequate funding.

A positive trend in economic development that we have noticed is the homecoming of native Montanans to start technology businesses. Many of these entrepreneurs have young families and are returning because of our low cost of living coupled with a quality public education system. We cannot afford to take a step backward in economic development by cutting the funding to our schools.

The rapid pace of technological development is changing the workplace and marketplace. Some predict that graduates today will have five different careers in their working lives, three of which have yet to be invented. Graduates need current skills and a passion for lifelong learning or they will become obsolete.

One thing is for sure, the economy and many of the jobs that emerge from this recession will be fundamentally different than they were three years ago. We need a public education system that prepares students for an evolving and dynamic job market.

Quality education is an investment that produces productive citizens and a bright future. We should not deny that opportunity. Please remember to return your ballots by May 3 and vote "yes" on your local mill levies. Now is the time to Make Our Future Bright (http://www.makeourfuturebright.org).

This opinion piece was written by Susan Ash, Brent Campbell, Brad Colberg, Sheila Callahan, John Wells, Wayne Hiett and Reid Perkins, members of Friends of Public Education.