These days, the American educational landscape more nearly resembles a legal battlefield than a common ground for learning. Just last week, for instance, a judge ruled Connecticut’s school financing system unconstitutional; New Hampshire’s cap on educational adequacy funding was tossed out; and the Croydon School Board was back in court in connection with its effort to pay private school tuition with public funds.

 In these circumstances, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that communities are still making investments in their public schools that stand to pay dividends for years to come. For example, this month in Hartford and the Mascoma Valley, newly renovated schools were greeted with enthusiasm and gratitude by students, teachers and administrators thrilled to begin a new academic year in buildings that no longer presented physical obstacles to the central task of teaching and learning.

The 108-year-old White River elementary school and its 250 pupils are the beneficiaries of a $3.6 million overhaul overwhelmingly approved by Hartford voters in 2014, at a time when school construction projects were under intense scrutiny because of cost overruns. The approval represented a validation and a public vote of confidence in the school, following as it did several years of discussion about closing White River as part of an elementary school consolidation plan. Parents, though, made it clear that they cherished the education and learning atmosphere the school provided, and the voters backed them up in a tangible way by agreeing to the renovation project.

What did they get for their money? A new heating system to replace an old boiler that blew hot and cold in different parts of the building; better air quality with the replacement of a leaking gym roof, the installation of new flooring in the classrooms, and the removal of old insulation and bat droppings in a storage space; new bathroom fixtures; and a general facelift that produced a lighter, brighter atmosphere more conducive to learning.

The story is much the same at Mascoma Valley Regional High School, which has been renovated and expanded at a cost of $21.5 million. Advocates had a hard time selling the project to hard-pressed voters in the district’s five towns, but finally succeeded on the fourth try. Among other amenities, the expansion includes an auditorium, media center and library, while the renovation provides larger, sunlit classrooms that, says Superintendent Patrick Andrew, provide flexibility for the kind of creative educational endeavor the school wants to nurture. Harrison Hinman, a junior, was among those deeply affected by what he saw. “I kind of broke down in tears when I walked into the auditorium because it’s something I’ve been waiting for for so long,” he told staff writer Tim Camerato. ‘It doesn’t feel like Mascoma, but it is Mascoma and I’m very proud to go here.”

Yes, public education across the nation needs improvement. But as these stories attest, public schools are central to the identity of many communities such as Hartford and the Mascoma Valley towns, and often are a source of pride and cohesion. They serve as the generational bridge between continuity and change in a community’s life. But that’s not all. In the bigger picture, public education is central to the democratic project in a way few other institutions in American life still are. It is what we still have in common at a time when the nation is subject to unprecedented centrifugal forces that threaten to drive it apart. Vibrant public schools are vital if America is to prosper and equality of opportunity is to become a fact rather than a longstanding aspiration. That won’t happen without communities continuing to believe in the mission of public education and providing the resources to carry it out.