Rosemary, a mom from Scranton

As parents, we make choices every day in the best interests of our children. One of the most important choices our family had to make was how to educate our sons. The education our children receive is crucial in helping them lead productive and meaningful lives.

For our older son, our family chose a private Catholic school to meet his educational needs. Today, he is a junior in high school. Our younger son also started his education in a parochial school. However, we felt he needed a different approach to his education. We toured Howard Gardner MI Charter School in Scranton and decided to enroll him in the public charter school.

We are very happy with our choice. Our son is part of a school community that truly cares about every student. The school offers small classes, individualized attention and a nurturing environment. As parents, we appreciate that the administration is very responsive to our families and our needs or concerns.

Not everyone can afford a private school tuition. That is why it's important that parents have the right to enroll their children in a public charter school, if they believe that is the best opportunity for them.

Despite the many benefits offered by charter schools – such as high-quality public education, innovative learning techniques and personalized learning – they receive on average about 25 percent less in funding per student than district schools. 

We pay taxes just like our neighbors. The taxes we pay should follow our children to the public schools they attend. The funding belongs to the students, not the administrators.

I hope that state lawmakers, who are considering cutting funding for charter school students, will ask themselves: What if that child were mine?