Posted 3/7/01 Educating children far more important than a tax rebate To the editor: We are living through a decisive moment in our stateís history. President Bush is proposing a $1.6 trillion tax cut and a budget which makes clear that there will be previous little to invest in our children, whether in Head Start, child care, or the IDEA program for children with special needs. And here in Minnesota, recent proposals for big tax rebates have overtaken the budgetary priority of investing in our public schools. This means that Minnesotaís students will be hit with a double whammy: grossly inadequate federal and state investment in the programs that are most important for their development. Minnesota is an education state, but I fear that the budget, if enacted as presented, will require a retreat from our commitment to providing a quality education for every child, regardless of whether they are boy or girl, urban or rural, rich or poor. Today we are at a crossroads. We cannot do it all: we cannot provide rebates, tax cuts and invest in the best education of our children. We must decide which values are most important to us. Our identity as a state is inextricably woven with the high value we place on education. Minnesotans have always had a moral commitment to doing the best we can for our children, and to meeting their needs to nurture their growth. We have also always viewed this as a public responsibility. A well-educated workforce is also the power behind our economy, and provides for the well-being of all of us in the state. As a teacher, I spent a lifetime in the classroom and as a Senator, I have tried to be in a school every two weeks. This issue is very personal for me. I believe our stateís education legacy is very personal to the citizens across our state as well. And I believe that Minnesotans believe that educating our children is more important than the size of any rebate or tax cut. Sincerely, Paul D. Wellstone U.S. Senator, Minnesota ©Post Review