Issue Position: Education, School Choice, and Workforce Development

FAMILY LEGACY AND COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
I am proud of my family's long-standing commitment to education and community service.

My grandpa, Bill Whiting, taught social studies and coached several sports for over thirty years. Even in his retirement, he continues to substitute teach and referee sports all year long.

People regularly come up to me on the campaign trail to tell me about the positive impact he had on their lives.

I have other family members who have taught in the classroom and served as teachers' aides, referees, coaches, and volunteers.

HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION AND EDUCATION SPENDING
As your state senator, I will continue to support policies that prioritize Iowa's educational system to provide Iowans with the highest quality education anywhere--from kindergarten to college to workforce development.

Iowa has been a national leader in high quality education standards, high school graduation rates, and education spending.

As a proud graduate of Spirit Lake High School, I know that Northwest Iowa has many good schools for students to attend.

However, every year the Democrats tell us we're starving our schools dry. That's just not true.

This year, the state spent over $3 billion on education, accounting for over 40% of the general fund budget--the single largest expenditure. Furthermore, Iowa has increased education funding by over 20% since 2008.

While these are promising statistics, I don't believe simply throwing more money at education automatically leads to improved educational outcomes. As your state senator, I will carefully look at the education budget every year to ensure we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

I will support policies that provide sufficient funding for education to allow Iowa's students to continue to receive a high quality education.

Furthermore, I support policies that give school districts more flexibility to spend money as they see fit, rather than a purely top-down approach from Des Moines.

SCHOOL CHOICE
I support school choice to allow parents to make the best decision for their children's education and future--whether public, private, or homeschooling.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Finally, I support vibrant and innovative approaches to workforce development training that allow individuals to enroll in vocational and technical schools and community colleges to fill immediate employment needs in our local communities.

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