Three new civic education programs, on education funding, redrawing legislative districts, and the federal Farm Bill, will premier on WCKN, Time Warner Cable Channel 30, on Feb. 27 and 28.

Staring at 7:30 p.m. both nights is a conversation about public education funding with New York State Assemblywoman Addie Jenne Russell, who serves the 118th "River" District in St. Lawrence and Jefferson Counties. With Ann Carvill, a former Potsdam Central School Board President, Russell discusses Governor Cuomo's education funding proposals for schools in the North Country and what citizens can do to advocate for fair and equitable funding.

Public school funding in the North Country has been a hot-button topic this spring, given the deep cuts that local schools are faced with in the budget proposals. School administrators, parents and teachers have been working hard to educate residents and to lobby Albany for fair and equitable funding.

At 8 p.m. is a conversation about redistricting in St. Lawrence County with Assemblywoman Russell, who discusses the latest proposal with Sue Cypert, Chair of the St. Lawrence County League of Women Voters, and Kathleen Stein, Public Policy Chair for the St. Lawrence County Branch of AAUW, the American Association of University Women. The current proposal breaks St. Lawrence County up into four separate assembly districts.

At 8:30 p.m., North Country Matters will broadcast the one-hour Farm Bill Listening Forum held by Rep. Bill Owens Feb. 25 at Clarkson University. The 23rd District congressman hosted the open forum to hear from various sectors of the agricultural, food security and the environmental community in the North Country.

Once the shows have premiered on WCKN, they will be available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/danieledullea#. Check the websites for AAUW-St. Lawrence County (http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/index.html) and the League of Women Voters of St. Lawrence County (http://slc-leaguewv.org/) for specific program links.

North Country Matters is the video news magazine produced by WCKN under the direction of Dan Dullea of the Center for Excellence in Communication at Clarkson University.

The civic partners working to educate North Country residents with these programs about critical public policy issues facing our region include AAUW-St. Lawrence County, the League of Women Voters of St. Lawrence County, and Clarkson Media and Mass Communication students. North County Public Radio was the media sponsor for the Farm Bill Forum with Rep. Owens.