Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Our children are the measuring stick of our state's development. Whether we pass or fail is dependent upon how we do with our education system. I am working to correct that system. Our state is rich in the science and technology fields, and our schools should reflect that industry. We need to invest heavily community wide in partnering with those business to allow teachers to be supported, students to be mentored, and families to be brought back into the classrooms. Legislation has been introduced that would allow us to draw on the wealth of expertise we have in science, technology, and business for secondary students. With the proper requirements met we should be able to mine from our resource of experienced mentors sharing real world knowledge bringing our youth into the future. I will continue to support this venture of community partnering while growing our teaching pool and the classroom practices for our children.

We have made progress on education spending: during the 2016 session, we passed the largest K-12 education budget in state history. This is one step toward putting the priority back on our students. We have to raise graduation rates along with standards in our state. Education has to be focused on the students, and it's our job, as citizens, to come together and align ourselves with our teachers to allow them to do what they were trained to do, to teach their subjects to the best of their abilities. Young teachers want to be those heroes who equip and inspire the next generation to make the world an amazing place, so they deserve for us to make the system one they can reach those dreams within. Kids want to learn, and teachers want to teach.

We are making steady progress in repairing our system, but much still needs to be done. Kids need the tools to have a good education. These tools are no longer just pencils, paper, and printed materials. We live in a fast paced world with every evolving technology. Our children need to be on the threshold of understanding that technology and how to master it, so it does not master them. We have to foot the bill and find the solutions to make that happen. It is going to take all of us to make this happen regardless of whether you have kids in the school. We all pay for it through taxes, and through how it affects our community at large. Good schools produce good citizens which in turn produces a great community. Our kids deserve a great community to live in. That's the future I want for all our children.

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