Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Its time to examine how school districts are set up and make some much needed changes. With the recession, businesses had to look closely at bottom lines and process improvements over the last few years. I feel that most schools have not taken this initiative. Many schools are heavily administrated and this takes money out of educating our children and putting funds into large salaries, retirement plans and benefit packages. When we examine pre K and K-12 funding, not all districts of the state are alike. Each community has different and unique circumstances and needs. This means that there needs to be a local government presence, led by the parents and the community. I would be an advocate of school board elections being held during primaries and general elections. I feel that this would make the most of our school board elections, and produce a higher community involvement. We also need to focus attention on community colleges and vocational programs at the high school level. I have visited with several businesses and community leaders and the comments are all the same: "we cannot find any skilled labor to fill these positions." Four-year universities are not within the means, or interests, of every student. We should encourage students to look into the skilled labor force. With all the innovations and technology today, there are countless opportunities for our students to take advantage of. I am committed to working with educators and students to bridge the labor gap in our region.

Bottom line: Because schools do not work on unlimited funds (tax-payer dollars), we should be more closely evaluating where every dollar goes. This will give our kids a better chance at a higher quality education, while preparing them for their post-graduation futures.

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