To the editor:

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. … Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” These words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. implore us to search our hearts as we look for solutions for our underfunded public schools, a crisis started at the state level.

Closing neighborhood schools takes the heart out of an intelligent solution that I am sure our decision-makers are capable of making. Where is our collective will to do the right thing, which is to keep neighborhood schools open? At the very least, this is an issue deserving more time for intelligent thinking from those with character in the decision-making positions at every level.