Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

K-12

I try to always stand up for our students, teachers and schools. But that does not mean I am satisfied with the way American schools are performing. I voted against a state budget that reduced school funding.

If I am re-elected I will continue to oppose deeper cuts in the upcoming legislative session. We need higher graduation rates, greater learning and more exposure to the challenges of globalization. Chinese languages meant nothing to me as a child, but they matter to my grandkids. I am working to find innovative ways to educate our children, keep teachers in the classroom and make sure college is within reach of all Hoosiers. This will require sacrifices from all of us. I am tired of seeing Indiana fall behind on education.

I am committed to full-day kindergarten. While some schools in our country are issuing "net books" to their students, Indiana's students are still charged for text books. The benefits from an increased emphasis on education are simply too great to be lost. We need to demand more of teachers and administrators, but especially of ourselves. Too many of our young people are not being challenged to do their best. We all need to work on this.

Higher Ed

The number of people from around the world who attend our colleges and universities is a marvel to me. We need to see the benefit of this and to learn from those who visit us to study. I see our universities as great assets as well as a driving force for economic and workforce development in Indiana.

I will work to expand our higher education system from IVY Tech to post-graduate research. In the process we are going to have to act to ensure that maximum resources flow into teaching and research.

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