Dear Next President,

Many say that the future of our country is in the youth, which is why education is so important. Most kids don’t get to decide where they go to school; it’s based on where they live or where their parents want them to go. This not only affects kids now but for their whole life, since colleges do consider the high school you went to. With all of these, and other, factors coming into play it either puts kids at an advantage or a disadvantage that is not fair. Students should have an equal chance at the best education and schools should have equal funding.

You always hear people complain about the underfunding in schools but there is never change. In fact, it might be getting worse. As said by Our Future Chicago, New budgets, passed by state legislatures, are making a big impact on kids and their families. The key five states for budget cuts in K12 schools are Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. These states have reduced services like kindergarten, programs, technical education, foreign language courses, music, art and physical education programs. Many states have also increased class sizes and lowered staffing. For students to succeed in their learning, they need smaller class sizes, more staff and a well rounded curriculum.Elected leaders should use citizens’ taxes to help build a future for kids by providing funding for schools and helping all students to get the education they deserve.

Another problem with the underfunding of schools is how it affects the reputation of certain schools. While many colleges are focussed on the GPA before the name of your high school, this is not the case for Ivy League schools. The Chicago Tribune says that 6% of Harvard’s admitted students came from ten schools. All of these schools were “feeder schools”, meaning that they are successful and very well funded. If a student has worked hard their whole life, just to get denied because of her school’s name.

While I may not face all of these problems at my school I sure recognize a few. I love my school but the student to teacher ratio is supposed to be nineteen to one. From my experience the ratio is much higher. This is a good example of how increasing funding to our school can add staff and reduce class size, thereby increasing the students’ chance at a better educations. As president, are you going to stand up to this issue for our country? To help further advance our nation, through education? And, most of all give every child the chance to succeed?

Sincerely,

Alexis