Issue Position: Investing in Education & Workforce Development

Issue Position

As someone who has spent 16 years in public education, I believe that we can build the best schools in the world right here in Central Virginia. Currently, our local community public schools are overregulated and underfunded. As your Delegate, I will move us away from standardization and instead empower our teachers and schools. I'll work to ensure that every child has the opportunity to engage in their learning, connect to our community, and prepare for the real world. I will support increases in the state share of school funding so that rural school divisions have more flexibility in their budgets. I will support increases in pay for our teachers so that we can recruit and retain the most highly qualified people in our community to teach our kids. I also believe we need to invest in workforce development to train people looking for work in emerging job markets like green energy and cybersecurity and in traditional job markets like construction and manufacturing. Education is a fundamental and critical investment in our children, our economy, and our community that I will work to support and protect.

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