Now, I don’t have children yet. God willing, my husband and I won’t have them for a few more years.

However, I do want children on down the line. And even if I didn’t, I’d like to think I’d be sensitive to the fact that most people around me are tasked with the incredible job of raising kids. I know it’s not easy to raise a child into a well-rounded person who is capable of recognizing the immense potential in us all.

That’s why I will go ahead and tell you I will vote “yes” five times when I fill out my ballot in the Feb. 8 special election to extend 30 mills in education taxes. I know, I know, the election’s still two months away, but this is a pretty easy choice to make.

Do I want to help or hinder our county’s children? Well, of course I want to help them. Any other answer to that question would be unacceptable. So, for me, it logically follows that if we want our schools to continue to improve, we must provide them with the funds needed to do so.

If you live in an area without a high school but your community desperately needs one (I’m looking at you, Helena), then you need to make plans to vote “yes” to extend these taxes.

If your kid is currently attending class in a portable classroom and you’d like to see him or her in an actual school building from now on, you know what you have to do? Vote “yes.”

If you would like to see more arts programs in your child’s school, better find a way to your polling place Feb. 8. Voting “yes” is the only way you’ll get that done.

Shelby County Superintendent Randy Fuller said, “This is the most important decision the citizens of Shelby County will make for their children’s future in the next 30 years.”

I couldn’t agree more. That’s why, even though this special election is two months away, I have already made my decision.

Please consider doing the same and helping to make Shelby County an even better place — both for your children and for your children’s children.

Amy Jones is Associate Editor for News of the Shelby County Reporter. She can be reached at 669-3131 ext. 30 or by e-mail at amy.jones@shelbycountyreporter.com.