As a tax paying member of this community, I’m deeply alarmed by the relentless attacks on our public schools and on programs like Medicaid that help children thrive.

Right now, Republicans in Congress are slashing school funding, censoring curriculum, and gutting Medicaid and SNAP programs that schools rely on to feed kids, provide mental health support, and also to ensure students with disabilities get the services they need. And what’s worse, these cuts are being made to give tax breaks to billionaires and to pay for separating families, human rights abuses, and terrifying hardworking immigrants — people essential to our care workforce, our economy, and our future.

This means that public dollars are being funneled into private voucher schemes while neighborhood schools are left scrambling for funds. Books that reflect the accurate history of our nation and the diversity of our students are being banned. And the federal commitment to equity in education is being erased.

We need our elected leaders to stand up for all children, regardless of race, ZIP code, language, or ability, and protect their right to a safe, honest, and fully-funded education.

Cutting Medicaid and public school funding to fund attacks on immigrant families isn’t just shortsighted, it’s cruel. Our nation needs a safe and orderly immigration process that balances compassion and security, NOT cuts to health care and schools, and NOT cruelty. I urge our lawmakers to reject these attacks and instead invest in our shared future: Our children.

MARY O’NEILL

Presque Isle