Dear Editor:

I didn’t go to school in Owen-Withee, but I have some very fond memories in my youth of the roller rink, the movie theater and even the bowling alley; none of which were available for our kids to enjoy. My best memories, however, came from the experiences our kids had in the Owen-Withee School. We had the opportunity to send our kids to a larger school, but we felt the smaller school experience was more personal, and we don’t regret that decision for a minute. There has been a lot of talk about taxes, and state funding, a little talk about political views, and even a little finger-pointing about correct use of state funding, but I am encouraging everyone to take a step back and look at the bigger picture about “small town experiences.” I don’t want to pay any more taxes than anyone else, but do we really want our school to be another experience that is no longer available in a small town? I believe this referendum is about so much more than property taxes (which can be argued many different ways). The people who get to choose to support the referendum, have already made the choice to experience a small town way of life just by living here. We may no longer have movie theaters, or roller rinks, but I feel each voter should ask themselves if they truly want to vote “no” to small town life? Without small town schools, the next logical step is no more small towns. I no longer have kids in school, but I feel it is a priority for me to allow future generations the same option to choose between the small school experience or the larger school experience. I want future generations to have the choice between small town life or big city life. I truly feel voting “yes” is voting for so much more than an operational referendum, it’s my way of saying “I vote yes to keeping the small town life an option for our future.”

Kris (and Randy) Karaba

Owen, WI