Issue Position: Improving Education
Issue Position
o I support maximizing local authority providing increased flexibility to school boards to set their own curricula and try innovative methods of teaching to increase student performance;
o I will ensure that every teacher across Alabama has adequate supplies and state-of-the-art technology to nurture and teach their students;
o I will work to ensure that classroom sizes are manageable, propose new after school tutoring initiatives and fine arts education, and fully fund K-12 and Pre-K education;
o I will reduce Alabama's dropout rate by directly targeting the highest risk students;
o I will propose pilot programs to evaluate the best way to compensate teachers based on classroom performance, while accounting for differing conditions within our school system;
o I will demand that Alabama's public colleges and universities put their spending priorities in order and ensure that funding for, and spending by, Alabama's public colleges and universities will be completely transparent and made available to the public via the Internet;
o On February 10, 2010, I voted in the House Education Appropriations Committee to fully fund the PACT program because our state has a moral and a legal obligation to honor the contracts purchased by Alabamians;
o On February 10, 2010 I voted to indefinitely postpone consideration of the charter school bill because it was inadequate and needed improvement.
Primary & High School Education
Improving Teacher Budgets & Performance
The future of Alabama's workforce depends upon the educational foundation we lay today. Currently, Alabama spends too much money on operating our schools and not nearly enough money on classroom instruction. It is unacceptable that teachers do not have adequate supplies for the classroom and frequently must supplement their meager budgets from their own salaries. Accordingly, as a State Representative I have given every teacher in every classroom in my district $100 for simple classroom supplies like paper and pencils. As Governor, I will work to ensure that every teacher across Alabama has adequate supplies and state-of-the-art technology to nurture and teach their students in manageable classroom sizes.
I also will propose pilot programs to evaluate the best ways to provide schools with bonuses for improving student classroom performance. By focusing on school improvement instead of measuring each individual teacher, we will encourage all teachers to work together to improve their school performance, instead of competing against each other. Additionally, rewarding schools instead of individual teachers is more appropriate because many students will have more than one teacher, and there is no way to measure how much any single teacher contributes to a single student's or school's improved academic performance.
Improving Student Education & Reducing Dropout Rates
In addition to basic supplies, we must give Alabama's students every opportunity to succeed. Accordingly, I will propose new after school tutoring initiatives, fully fund K-12 and Pre-K education, and provide new funding to ensure that every school in Alabama offers our students access to the fine arts. I will address our state's dropout rate by creating new programs to target the highest risk students directly. Additionally, my budgets will fully fund the Alabama reading initiative as well as innovative programs in science, technology, and mathematics.
Charter Schools
On February 10, 2010 I voted to indefinitely postpone considering charter school legislation because it was inadequate for Alabama and needed improvement. While I prepared two amendments to improve the bill so I could vote in favor of it, the committee did not consider either one. My first amendment limited the initial number of initial charter schools to ten, five for technical schools and five for local community schools. This initial limit would allow the state to test and evaluate the effectiveness of charter schools before implementing it statewide. My second amendment gave local school boards sole authority on whether to establish charter schools in their communities, instead of the State Board of Education. I support maximizing local authority and providing increased flexibility to local school boards, and believe local communities can better assess their own needs than the State Board of Education.
Finally, I am not willing to fund an untested program in Alabama in order to get an Obama bailout from the "Race to the Top" money in the Obama stimulus. I am not willing to fund an untested program in Alabama in order to get an Obama bailout. To obtain this money, Alabama would have to change our educational rules and regulations and keep these changes in place even after the federal money runs out, even though that money does nothing to fund charter schools. We as Republicans have been opposed to Obama bailout money. I will continue to oppose accepting any federal funds which require Alabama to change its laws and make us responsible for funding new programs when the federal money runs out.
Higher Education
Quality higher education is the cornerstone to Alabama's success. Alabama must be able to attract new businesses by providing quality graduates who are prepared to enter the workforce as productive members of society. This will entail improving our academic programs and career preparation as well as increasing transparency in funding and spending by public universities and colleges.
Ensuring Accountability in Higher Education by Increasing Transparency
As Governor, I will demand that Alabama's public colleges and universities put their spending priorities in order. I will ensure that funding for and spending by Alabama's public colleges and universities will be completely transparent and made available to the public via the Internet.
Improving Academic Programs & Career Preparation
As Governor, I will propose and support changes to current academic programs to provide flexibility in the curriculum and ensure that students are able to obtain their degree within four years or less. It simply is not acceptable that many Alabama students must take out additional loans to an additional semester of college beyond the standard four years merely to take one or two courses needed to graduate.
I also will work with the legislature to redesign our higher education system to ensure our students and workforce are among the best prepared in the nation. This will entail expanding the number of job-directed programs and practical degrees in our colleges and universities to ensure that Alabama's workforce is well prepared to compete in our changing global economy.
Guaranteeing Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Plans
On February 10, 2010, I voted in the House Education Appropriations Committee to fully fund Alabama's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (PACT) program. The funding to pay for the bill will become available once capital improvement bonds are redeemed. I believe that the State of Alabama has a moral and a legal obligation to honor the PACT program contracts purchased by Alabamians. Our citizens invested in this program believing it was backed by the full faith and credit of the State of Alabama.
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