Next Tuesday, state and local political candidates will meet at Washington High School’s Performing Arts Center to give the public a view of where they stand on the topic of education. The forum is a result of a partnership between two educational organizations in Beaufort County — Beaufort County Schools and Beaufort County Community College.

Though forums around the county have been conducted prior to this forum, this particular forum focuses on education, a big issue in the county, the state and the nation. Among those candidates invited are N.C. Sen. Bill Cook and Rep. Paul Tine, as well as the entire Beaufort County Board of Commissioners.

This forum is a very important event for Beaufort County. This is a chance for anyone in the county to ask any education-related questions they may have for the people tasked with representing residents of Beaufort County and North Carolina and making important decisions regarding the future of the population. The answers the candidates give to the questions asked could very well determine the vote of an individual.

The public is invited to submit questions related to education by contacting Penny Sermons at pennys@beaufortccc.edu. A nonpartisan committee will meet to review and vet the questions, organize them by category and make them available the night of the forum.

It’s very important to remember the forum is not a debate. It’s a chance for the public to hear directly from the candidates and formulate their own opinions of the best candidate to vote for.

So exercise your right to submit a question or two. Public participation will help enlighten the public as a whole. A question you may ask may enlighten your neighbor and vice versa.

The outcome of the forum could mean more-informed voters, an idea of who the better candidate is regarding education and who has the best interest of Beaufort County and North Carolina residents at heart.