Editor:

We need to pass the school district referendum later this month. Failure of this referendum would result in numerous detrimental results to our children’s education and to our town. Among these things which will negatively impact our children and our town is the closing of our two charter schools.

Northwoods Community Elementary School (NCES) is our K-5th grade charter school. Northwoods Community Secondary School (NCSS) is our 6th-12th grade charter school. Both of these schools do a great job of offering students an alternative to traditional education formats in a project-based learning format. NCES continues to have exemplary standardized test scores. NCSS has been a model charter school. School districts around the state desiring to start their own charter schools send teams to NCSS to learn how it operates.

Students in Rhinelander have fine traditional schools, as well as a successful charter school program for grades K-12. We must remember that closing NCES and NCSS would not only result in a lost educational alternative for our children. It would also result in larger class sizes as the charter school students would be taken into the traditional school classrooms.

All of our children are depending on us to support their educational endeavors, whether traditional or charter-based. Let’s support our children and our town by supporting this needed referendum. Please vote “yes” for the school district referendum on Feb. 19.

Linda Cole, Rhinelander