I found myself thinking about the late Richie Plass recently as I was browsing for news.

The first newscast I ever delivered on the radio was 18 minutes long, including the commercials. I started reading at 7:37 a.m. after Paul Harvey News and Comment, and I filled the time until the 7:55 a.m. ABC newscast. Nowadays, a radio newscast runs about three minutes, if the station carries news at all. I remember playing audio clips that ran 30-40 seconds.

Wisconsin’s public school system is dependent upon tax dollars. Schools use state and local taxes to pay for services, salaries, transportation, supplies, utilities and more. Schools also don’t solely control how much tax money they receive, or how much they are able to spend. The legislature sets spending limits for schools and determines how much state assistance they get to offset that spending.

As we headed into the Independence Day weekend, many families fired up the grill and celebrated with burgers and steaks cooked to sizzling perfection or, in sadder cases, charred to an unrecognizable blackened blob.

Our recently vaccinated family hit the highways and waterways in a major way this last month. Thanks to public investment, we have highways and interstates that cross the entire country, and I can zip off to visit family in Wyoming or Michigan relatively easily.

As I reflect on my 41 years in education, I am reminded of how crucial it is for all young people to have the supports and resources they need to be successful in school and life. Growing up in Mississippi during the Civil Rights era, I was one of 14 children in our family. We lived in poverty, surrounded by a racially segregated environment. By today’s standards, I would have been considered at-risk.