Issue Position: Protect and Promote Education

A strong educational system is not only important for a strong business climate, it's also important because our children are our future. Their personal value is more than can be measured with dollars and cents. Their success depends on the quality of education they get. We should not settle for anything but the best for our children and their future.

The two most important people in the education process are the student and the teacher. Both need to be fully supported to bring an effective learning environment. Because of that students and parents deserve to have the opportunity to choose what's best for them, whether that is in a public, private, charter school or home schooling.

I also believe teachers should be paid according to the quality of the job they are doing. Teachers who do an exceptional job should be rewarded with exceptional pay. In hard economic times it is even more important for our educational dollars to be spent in a way that will support the teachers in the classroom and not just the bureaucracy of the school district.

While in the legislature:

-- Voted for the largest pay increase in recent history as part of Governor Ducey's 20×2020 plan.

-- Voted to increase K-12 education funding that goes directly to the classroom without raising taxes.

-- Voted for both Prop 301 and 123 putting millions of dollars into public education and the classroom.

-- Voted to fully restore funding to Career and Technical Education Programs across the state.

Source