And I’m saddened by the deliberate efforts being made by state legislators to defund public education. Oklahoma’s spending on a per pupil basis currently ranks last in the region and 47th in the nation.

Attacks on education have taken many forms, the most recent being a proposed voucher bill. This would allow state funds to follow a student to a private school, further defunding the local public school.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on and celebrate what public schools bring to our communities, and to contemplate what we stand to lose.

I go to work each day in an organization whose sole purpose is to improve the wellbeing of our youth and improve their future prospects. It’s a place where everyone is given the opportunity, resources and encouragement to participate in sports, orchestra, theatre, clubs, marching band and a staggering array of other extracurricular activities.

It’s an organization providing counseling, health care and transportation. It genuinely embraces diversity.

This organization encourages volunteering and collaborates with churches, nonprofits and industry. It provides 16,000 meals of high quality, healthy, locally sourced food each day to children, some of whom might otherwise not have a meal that day.

That is a public school.

Academically this year, 11 Union students were named National Merit Finalists. Our College and Career Center helps students navigate college applications and scholarships.

Students find career opportunities by earning credit through Tulsa Tech courses or by completing apprenticeships with at private and nonprofit institutions. This year, nearly 200 Union students are earning certifications in areas such as forklift operation, OSHA, food handling and 122 other certifications.

Also, virtual courses are offered to students who chose to learn online. Union students have tremendous and diverse education choices within the public school system.

Public schools are funded through a combination of state (37%), federal (13%), local property taxes (27%), bonds (20%) and private grants.

Union voters have passed school bonds with more than 80% approval. It has allowed construction of facilities rivaling any college, with modern science labs, STEM workplaces, libraries, performing arts centers, sports facilities, greenhouses and more.

These amazing facilities should be seen as monuments to the extremely high support for public schools. However, legally bond funds only can be used for capital improvements such as buildings, furniture, transportation and technology. Those cannot pay for day-to-day operations like classroom expenses or teacher salaries and benefits, which are funded through the state.

Learning to interact with all groups in our society is how to truly celebrate and capitalize on the diversity in our community.

Each day, I witness a tremendously diverse student body—representing all socioeconomic groups and abilities—interact in positive ways that leave me optimistic about our future.

Private schools have the right to pick and choose which students to admit, unless public funds are involved. Tax dollars should not be used to support organizations that might discriminate—whether explicitly or implicitly—on the basis of race, religion, physical or mental ability, or sexual orientation/identity.

Private schools are vibrant and valuable institutions to be celebrated and encouraged as sources of different approaches and philosophies. But because they are privately supported and exempted from all public mandates, they should not be granted taxpayer funds, particularly when that deprives public education.

Can public education be improved? Of course.

But using that as an excuse to underfund and undermine public schools will significantly damage the experience of the 90% of Oklahomans who choose public education. Vouchers only benefit the agenda of the wealthier and privileged few.

To quote Horace Mann, “Public education is the cornerstone of our community and our democracy.” I am holding up Union as an example, but in every Oklahoma city and town, public schools represent the best of what we aim to be.