I am writing to respond to the education emergency that we are now facing. It has passed the definition of "crisis" at this point.

I have been speaking out for several years now and have not felt like any of us have even been listened to. Maybe we have been too tactful and politically polite. We go to public meetings, only to find out the decisions of how our tax dollars are spent have already been decided prior to the meeting, and that closed sessions concerning the budget happen all the time without our input or an invitation. I thought we lived in a country where the government is "FOR the people, BY the people."

However, our elected representatives don't even "represent" us;. They aren't truly representative of our ages, gender, ethnicity or class status.

Whoever said "you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear" never met the Franklin County Board of Supervisors or Gov. Bob McDonnell or the Virginia General Assembly.

In short, whoever made that statement never met a politician. We seem to be blessed here in Virginia and in Franklin County with politicians who can do just that. The silk purse I'm referring to is our county services and our children's education in particular.

I just think it is very interesting how we went from an attitude of "No Child Left Behind" to "Let's Drag The Children Who Don't Want To Be Here With Us And Leave The Smartest Ones Behind."

The attendance policy has yet to hurt me, but I know from experience that all it takes is just one accident or illness. One virus that shall take away any chance of getting into a good college. I am in the top 6 percent of my class with two Advanced Placement (AP) classes and two college classes (now complete).

If I am not careful or if some idiot maniac driver decides to hit us, leaving either my father or myself injured, my career as a student may as well be over. I don't deserve to fail due to someone else's fault, and I certainly don't deserve to fail due to an illness.

In an editorial in the News Post, dated February 26, 2010, "Sacrificing Citizens for the Sacred Cow," Mr. John L. Schenk, president of NCB Inc., (a company on Hollins Road in Roanoke that sells roasted coffee), states that "the citizens of Franklin County cannot afford to balance the budget with their bank accounts any longer." He supports the argument that we got to where we are because of "poor oversight and the government mentality of we need more, never less."

He considers our Franklin County government, a "bloated bureaucracy" and that they "rob the citizens' bank account" to cover shortfalls. He notes that "school systems need to be run just like a business."

In response, I suggest Mr. Schenk take a look at the following real estate tax rate for Franklin and surrounding counties/municipalities, then again suggest that our county government is bloated. I might just be a country boy, but it looks to me that Franklin is on the bottom of the list.

I am a parent of two in the Sontag area of Rocky Mount. I have a kindergartner and a sixth grader. I am well aware of the fact that there needs to be cuts made to save money in our area, but the programs that the school board is considering cutting are classes that are needed! My son has played sandlot football for six years, and I was looking so forward to the fact that finally, after all these years, he would be able to wear our county colors and play for the school. Now I understand that there will be no more middle school sports. These sports keep these kids out of trouble and focused. It gives them a place to relieve stress and tension. It also helps these kids get into good colleges.

If we don't have sports for recruiters to come and watch these kids play, then we have no sports scholarships, which are the way that helps these kids get into good colleges to get a good education. I know that unless my children get sports scholarships, then I will not be able to afford college.

The Fifth District needs a representative in Congress who will work hard to curb out-of-control spending, downsize wasteful government bureaucracies and stop the Obama/Pelosi/Reid drive to make America a socialistic state.

State Sen. Robert Hurt is the representative we need to put our nation back on the successful track established by the Founding Fathers.

Hurt has established a solid record of conservatism, while serving as both a Delegate and Senator in Richmond. He is working closely with Gov. Bob McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to get control of spending and create real jobs for Virginians. Hurt sponsored a key bill in the McDonnell legislative package that will increase incentives for businesses to hire new workers. And he has voted dozens of times as a legislator to cut taxes.