School districts politicize students after their levies pass

Multiple school districts across Minnesota placed tax requests on the ballot for yesterday’s off-year election. The state’s public schools asked voters to approve levies to pay for schools’ operating costs, such as salaries, equipment, utilities, and other bills like building costs. Tax levies are paid through the collection of property taxes, which are based on the value of the property. (Nearly half of all property tax revenue in the United States goes toward public education.)

Today, school districts that had their levy pass took to social media to share the news. But what was disturbing was how the news was shared. Lakeville Area Schools, for example, posted a “thank you” video on Twitter that used children as props to support the tax increase.

Westonka Public Schools politicized its young students too.

This is not appropriate.

Adults understand the implications of a tax increase and all that it involves, but children do not. Feeding them with certain convictions so that they reach the same conclusions as the adults is problematic. What if a parent voted against the levy and yet his or her child was still being told what to say and how to express it? Why are school districts using our youngsters as political pawns?

Unfortunately, this is not the only example of politicization in education, according to Jay Schalin. Our politicized schools of education have radically transformed the nation, and it is a disastrous trend that needs to stop being ignored.