Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Education Funding

As the state Supreme Court recently ruled in the McCleary case, we are not meeting our paramount duty as defined in the state constitution. I believe strongly that our educational system needs to be reformed and adapted to the 21st century and funding is central to that reform. We lack appropriate priorities in our state budget and that needs to change. I support Rep. Bruce Dammeier's HB 2533 that creates a separate education budget and requires the state to appropriate funds to education first before we fund other budget priorities.
The chart below illustrates my highest priorities for education. I believe we can get the funding we need through a combination of methods.

1st -- We need to treat state government like a business as I outlined on this website. This alone is likely to fund many of my education priorities over the long term.

2nd -- We need to grow the economy by focusing on small businesses. The sooner we get those businesses on solid ground, the sooner state revenues will rebound.

3rd -- We need to close tax loopholes that don't make sense. As I mentioned before, it's about priorities. Next to each of my education priorities, I have listed an existing tax loophole that could pay for the initiative. This is not an apples to apples comparison but hopefully it will shed some light on where our current priorities are and where they need to be.

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