Editorial: That was a good chat on schools

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Thank you.

The Albert Lea Tribune on Sept. 28 asked the community to have a discussion on schools.

We wrote:

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&8220;Before Albert Lea School District voters go to the polls Nov. 6, our community needs to have a serious dialogue on this issue. Last year, the school levy referendum was on the ballot with numerous federal, state, county and city races. Debate over the schools existed but was somewhat lost in all the other election chatter. People really weren&8217;t talking about the schools and as a result the levy request failed.

&8220;This time, Albert Lea voters will have more time to hash out this matter. Whether you are for or against, it&8217;s time to start talking.&8221;

And talk you did. Good job.

Information is key to a successful democracy. That information includes opinion, whether people like opposite viewpoints or not. It is good for voters to know what other voters are saying. Good. Bad. Ugly. It&8217;s not always fun, but it is always important for voters to digest the opinions and the news and then have conversations.

By sharing your thoughts with reporters or writing letters to the editor and guest columns, you got people talking. Discussion is where the beauty of democracy lies. The printed material doesn&8217;t so often change minds as the one-on-one conversations that spring from them. The printed material merely starts the conversations and therefore is very necessary.

Albert Lea had the communitywide conversation it needed to have about its schools. Now voters will go to the polls today armed not merely with the stats, the dollar figures and the generalities but also with knowledge of what their friends, coworkers and neighbors think. And that&8217;s just as important.

The polls are open until 8 p.m. Be sure to vote.