We love our public schools and we vote. This must be the message that all Hoosiers take to the voting booth this fall.

Our state’s future depends on the strength and effectiveness of our public schools. The vast majority, over 1 million, of Indiana’s students attend public schools. Not only does Indiana’s economy depend on public schools producing capable and creative workers, our democracy depends on public schools producing active and engaged citizens. We need voters who are informed, able to think critically, and understand how to have civil discussions.

Our power is in our vote and in our attention to what legislators do, rather than just what they claim to do—in particular, to the priorities they express through the state budget, the baldest expression of state policy.

Public schools’ mission is to serve all children. State laws ensure that we can see where every dollar of our tax money is spent in public schools. Communities have oversight of their direction and spending through the election of school board members. Given the accountability, transparency, and inclusivity of public schools, one would think our elected officials would prioritize their support. Yet, since 2011, Indiana’s legislators have bled funding away from this common good by diverting money to vouchers and charter schools; now they threaten to establish so-called universal “education savings accounts” (vouchers on steroids) that would pay for “microschools” and homeschools. These privately-run schools have little accountability for the public dollars they spend and the students they support. In Indiana, private schools in particular have few checks and balances providing guardrails; for instance, they can openly discriminate against kids based on achievement, behavior, family composition, and religion.

Do your public school teachers get paid enough? Are there vacancies? Are there enough resources to support your kids with special needs? Public schools have a vast array of needs to meet and doing so takes funding. Why are we unable to provide early childhood education for Indiana’s most vulnerable students, yet we pay private school tuition for families who make more than $220,000 a year and can well afford it? Rural small school districts are paying a high price for an entitlement “school choice” program when their only real choice is their community public schools.

We at the Indiana Coalition for Public Education have been fighting for strong public schools for well over a decade. We know that public schools are the beating hearts of our communities. We call for accountability, meaning that all schools that accept public funds should play by the same rules. It is wrong to defund public schools—which are obligated by Indiana’s state constitution to serve all students—by siphoning tax dollars to an entitlement program for the wealthy.

Ultimately, accountability is found in the voting booth, which is why you need to know where your state-level candidates stand on public education.

Does your candidate intend to prioritize traditional public schools when funding education? Will they reject a universal voucher system and any expansions of existing voucher programs? Do they support fiscally conservative spending caps on voucher programs? Will they seek to ensure a consistent standard of transparency, accountability, and oversight for all entities receiving K-12 funding from taxpayers? On our website, ICPE is asking legislative candidates to pledge to support our local public schools.

Our local, public community schools are where we come together to watch plays, cheer for basketball teams, and listen to concerts. In rural Indiana, they are often the largest employer in town and vital to cultural and economic life. Will they continue to exist in any recognizable form? That’s up to Hoosier voters.