Investing in Education

By Lindsey Buck – CMR Alumni

As a PhD student in economics, I’ve spent days at a time writing about mathematics, economic theory, coding techniques, and more—but, nothing has felt quite as daunting as writing this short piece about Great Falls Public Schools. It is impossible to summarize my gratitude for the teachers I had, the experiences I went through, and the education that I received in GFPS; it is also impossible to represent how incredibly hard it is to see GFPS struggle to raise funds every year.

As a development economist who studies early childhood development, I often think about inputs for future success and productivity—why are there more than 200 million children in the world who fail to reach their full potential, cognitively, emotionally, and socially?

The resounding answer to this question, any way you ask it, is education.

Research shows us that investing in education can have astounding implications for the future of students: it can lift people out of poverty, lower their participation in crime, increase their future health, and, most importantly, make them into productive and successful citizens.

Beyond what research tells us, I know the importance of education, and of GFPS in particular, from personal experience. GFPS is my foundation: The teachers and education I received built me into who I am today.

My teachers made me think, question, analyze, think again, read, write, rewrite, and never give up.

I owe my happiness and success to GFPS in large part; that is why I am urging you to vote yes for the school levy. Voting yes for this school levy means investing in students like me and in your community, but it also means so much more than that.

Investing in GFPS is investing in the quality and future of our world.

*Lindsey Buck is a 2013 graduate of Charles M. Russell High School currently pursuing a PhD in economics from the University of Connecticut. She recently learned that she is part of a research group that was awarded $76,000 from Princeton University to study the effects of COVID-19 on domestic violence.