To the editor:

Equity vs. Equality 

This weekend, I received a mailer regarding the candidates for the Hastings School Board election. The mailer indicated that there are four candidates that support equality in our schools and four that support equity, painting those that support equity in a negative light.  

There is a big difference between equality and equity. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.   

Let’s say we have four people that want to go on a bike ride – a tall person, a medium-sized person, a child, and a wheelchair user. If we want equality, we are going to give each person the exact same medium-sized bike. The bike ends up being too small for the tall person, too big for the child, unusable for the wheelchair user, and exactly right for the medium-sized person. In this scenario, one person gets what they need and can have an enjoyable bike ride.  

If we want equity, we level the playing field and give each person what they need. The tall person gets a large bike, the medium-sized person gets a medium-sized bike, the child gets a child-sized bike, and the wheelchair user gets an adapted bike. Everyone gets to enjoy the bike ride because they each have the right resource they need for the job. 

Equity is not a bad thing – it supports each person as a unique individual and provides them the tools they need to succeed. Everyone does not need the exact same thing. Our children deserve the equity in their education, not equality. Join me in supporting Matt Bruns, Matt Seeger, Mariah Ring, and Brandy Wentzler for school board and vote for equity over equality. 

Andrea Barker