Build a better family for a better community

One of the Spokane’s most known and admired figures, Appeals Court Justice the late John Schultheis, once gave some advice to young lawyers in a 1999 Spokesman Review article to: “Spend more time in the raising of your kids.”

It’s good advice not just for lawyers, but also for anyone who has chosen to have a family, natural or adopted. It’s also good advice that if followed, might lead to something many people in and out of government are advocating for: education reform.

Federal, state and local spending on K-12 education has been steadily increasing, in many cases sharply, over the past 3-4...