Why is there this continuous assault on education? It is being applied at all levels, with President Donald Trump attacking Harvard and Columbia universities, Congress clawing back money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and our own Dickinson Country Board defunding the MSU Extension system. And now there is this push to end funding for Bay College Iron Mountain campus.

Having an educated population is central to having a well-running economy and for creating wealth in a community. You will find more blight and poverty in communities that are less educated. Those of the past knew this and that is why they voted for the community college millage.

They lived a life where it was only the wealthy who could afford higher learning for their children. One hundred years past, yes, all you needed was to learn your ABC and numbers, add and subtract. That is not the world today. The world continues to get more complex and the need for a continuing education community college only grows. It formerly was learn a factory skill and you would be set for life. Today if you are not thinking about which future skill will get you your next job, you are falling behind.

A community college is the place to learn those future skills. It does not matter if you are 18, 28, 48 or even 68. Taking a class at a community college will make your life better. And I am happy to invest in my community like they did in the past.