---

Dear Editor:
Look at any small town in Southwestern Wisconsin, and you'll see the local public school is at the heart of the community. The school is educating the citizens and leaders of tomorrow. Our hearts fill with pride for our students and their achievements. They provide sports, music, and theater for our entertainment. Funds for education are critical to maintaining our schools, which foster the "breath of economic life" to our town's stores, gas stations, taverns, agribusinesses, and churches.
Assemblyman Todd Novak claims to be pro-education, yet he has consistently voted against any Democratic bills or amendments to increase funding. He accepted half a million dollars from special interest groups such as one run by Betsy DeVos championing charter schools-a system which strips small town schools of money needed for special education. The cost of voucher schools to Wisconsin taxpayers is currently $350 million and surging.
Candidate Kriss Marion opposes the Republican cuts to education, believing that a state that does not invest in its own children is simply not investing in the future. She is a strong supporter of special education in public schools and is alarmed about how voucher schools have siphoned money away from special education programs. She fully supports parental choice, but she does not support the state paying for vouchers for private schools. Kriss Marion is an advocate for education and has condemned legislation passed by Republican lawmakers that stripped school districts and municipalities of local authority. Cast your vote for an education advocate. Vote for Kriss Marion for the Wisconsin Assembly District 51.
Nancy Caldwell
Blanchardville, WI