Vote yes for Fargo Public Schools on November 3

A wise U.S. senator once told me, “You don’t say ‘whoa’ in the middle of a horse race.”

That phrase has stuck with me — and it has been on my mind as Fargo prepares to vote on the future of Fargo Public Schools.

I come to this vote from a few different perspectives.

I’m a father of three kids in Fargo Public Schools. I’m an employer of some of the district’s amazing alumni. I’m an optimist who believes deeply in the role education plays in our shared future.

And I’m a grateful taxpayer.

I’m grateful because paying taxes means I get to contribute to a community that generations of people built before me — and that we now have a responsibility to hand forward.

Fargo has momentum.

We are growing. We are attracting families, creating companies, building neighborhoods and generating opportunities. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because people before us were willing to invest in things bigger than themselves.

Now is not the time to say “whoa.”

On November 3, Fargo voters will be asked to reauthorize Fargo Public Schools’ general fund mill levy.

A YES vote allows school funding to continue changing as Fargo grows and property values change. A NO vote freezes the district at the actual property tax dollars collected in the 2027-28 fiscal year.

The district currently has authorization for 127 mills. The new request is for 110 mills, reflecting a restructuring that places miscellaneous and tuition fund mills outside this authorization.

But to me, this vote isn’t really about mills.

It’s about people.

More than 11,000 young people attend Fargo Public Schools. Some will become nurses, engineers, teachers and tradespeople. Others will become entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, artists and leaders.

They will also inherit challenges we can barely comprehend today.

Artificial intelligence will transform work. Agriculture will need to produce more with fewer resources. Healthcare will face new pressures. Technology will create jobs that don’t exist today while adjusting others.

We don’t know exactly what the world will ask of today’s kindergartners when they graduate in 2039.

Our responsibility is to prepare them for it.

I see that personally as a dad.

I also see it as an employer. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside graduates of Fargo Public Schools. Their talent, curiosity and commitment remind me that education isn’t simply an expense on a public balance sheet. It’s an investment that shows up years later in our companies, nonprofits, hospitals, neighborhoods and families.

Strong schools are part of the infrastructure of a strong city.

That doesn’t mean writing blank checks.

We should expect accountability from Fargo Public Schools. We should ask hard questions. We should expect leaders to invest taxpayer dollars wisely and continually look for ways to improve.

Fiscal responsibility and strong public education aren’t competing ideas. We should expect both.

But building a great community also requires all of us to chip in.

Previous generations invested in schools, parks, roads, libraries and institutions they knew they might never personally use. They understood that strong communities aren’t inherited.

They’re handed forward.

Today, thousands of Fargo kids will walk into classrooms carrying ambitions, struggles, talents and possibilities we cannot yet see.

Three of them happen to be part of my family.

Someday soon, Fargo will be in their hands.

Today, a piece of their future is in ours.

We’re in the middle of the race.

Let’s not say “whoa” today.

Please join me in voting YES for Fargo Public Schools on November 3.