In the debate over the extent to which South Carolina should support its public schools, an important precept of citizenship has been lost. The public school system is ours, the citizens of South Carolina. As the organized means by which we educate our children, the public schools are our responsibility.

Our Legislature has decided, and most citizens agree, that the public school system is the most efficient way to educate more than 700,000 children each year. We may be frustrated about our public schools, we may complain about them, and we may even seek to escape them, but they are ours. Over the course of more than a century, hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians have invested not just money, but time, talent, effort, worry, anger and hope in the state’s public schools. They are our gift to the futures of individual children and to the future of the state as a whole.

For most of those years, South Carolina did not intend for its school system to educate all students to the same level of proficiency. It was not until at least 1975 that the state had a truly inclusive system of public education. The fact is that our schools are relatively inexperienced in providing a truly public education, seeking to educate all students well. South Carolina continues to pay a heavy price, and will pay it for many years to come, because for so long the state failed to provide a high-quality education for all children.

I’m thankful that this is a new day. South Carolina’s high academic standards apply to all, regardless of where they live, their race or ethnicity, the language they speak or the economic status of their families. Sadly, our public schools are not yet able to execute their mission to the benefit of all students. Among the many areas of needed improvement is public support.

Ironically, it is because of the success of public education that more families choose to educate their children in ways other than using the public schools. Most of these parents are able to not use the public school system because the public education the parents received enabled them to obtain knowledge, jobs and salaries that empower them to have and make choices. One goal of public schooling is to educate all children so they perform at levels that will enable them, as adults, to discern and access the choices available to them.

Unfortunately, there are people in our state who argue that the public schools are not theirs. They say either that they have divorced themselves from the public school system or they have outlived their need for it. Among these are some who send their children to nonpublic schools, educate them at home or no longer have children of school age. They argue that if they do not use the public schools, their tax dollars should not support public education. Some even believe that the state should compensate them for their personal decision not to use public schools.

This argument has dangerous implications for not only public schools but also for all public services. Imagine a community where only the patrons of the public library support the library, but people who choose to buy books instead of using the library expect a tax credit to support their private choice. Imagine a community where only families that use public parks and recreational facilities support those facilities, while families that have their own tennis courts or swimming pools expect a tax credit to support their private choice.

The choice not to use publicly financed services is a right citizens are free to exercise, but citizenship carries with it certain responsibilities. One of these is the obligation to support the public school system. It is the primary institution that will help successive generations of South Carolinians secure their futures and contribute to the development of the state as a whole. Moreover, people who have benefited from the public school system have a moral obligation to ensure that it works effectively in the future for those groups denied its opportunities in the past. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Philippi, “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

The public school system is not an alien institution. It is not, as some believe, a godless institution. Indeed, through the skill and caring of many teachers and administrators, God is working to accomplish small miracles every day.

For educators to perform the feats that the S.C. Constitution and the General Assembly require, public education needs need vocal and persistent advocates. Our state’s political, business, civic, and religious leaders must be at the front of the pack.

Perhaps some of these leaders, or their colleagues or constituencies, choose not to use the public schools to educate their own children. However, neither their personal choices, their political ideologies nor their religious beliefs should compromise their responsibilities as leaders to support our public schools.

We are all stewards for effective public schools. Whether or not we accept this responsibility, we are not relieved of it.

Mr. Mizell of Columbia is a distinguished senior fellow on the National Staff Development Council.