I moved to Lima and have been a proud member of this community for 62 years. There are so many wonderful things happening here and so many reasons why I am still proud to call Lima my home.
At the top of the list is the Lima City Schools, its staff, its graduates and all the students who are benefiting from the wonderful education the school district affords them.
I am today still proud of our decision to send our two children to the Lima City Schools. We chose public education and our children reaped the benefits of it every day. We loved the diversity of the district and all the opportunities our children were given. They are better people today because of the Lima City Schools.
My strong feelings for the Lima City Schools hold just as true today as they did many, many, years ago when our children were in school.
This is why I am so disappointed in the attack I have seen on public education and the Lima City Schools. They have come at every level, including our State Rep. Matt Huffman.
Rep. Huffman’s proposed voucher bill blatantly promotes private schools at the expense of public schools like the Lima City Schools. His effort demeans the great people working in the Lima City Schools and those parents like I once was who are so proud to send their children through those doors.
A school district should be inclusive and available to all, especially if public funds are being used. Public education educates all children, not just those children deemed “smart enough” or “good enough” to get in.
Rep. Huffman’s bill will do nothing more than damage public schools and in the end damage our city and community.
I will forever support this community and the wonderful public school system in my city. Everyone gets an opportunity in the Lima City Schools and that is how it should be.
Martha S. MacDonell, Lima
