Issue Position: Invest in Education, STEM, College Affordability

Issue Position

Our District has the best K-12 schools in the country but we can't afford to take our eye off the ball. We must aggressively push forward and ensure that our children are given every opportunity to succeed in the global, digital economy. At Microsoft, I saw first-hand how few engineers and computer programmers our country produces; we simply aren't graduating enough of them. And, given our immigration policies, many of the engineers who graduate from our colleges can't stay here. The result is a huge skills gap.

I support integrating education technology in the classroom and programs that greatly emphasize Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), skills that are increasingly necessary for children who will enter the workforce in the coming decades.

Providing our children with a STEM education will make the district an attractive location for companies from the technology industry, and position our children to compete for the high paying jobs of the future. Studies have shown that over time each high-tech job creates about five jobs outside of tech (two professional and three nonprofessional). It is critical that we have a representative in Washington who understands the needs of an increasingly important industry that has such dynamic economic potential if Northern New Jersey is going to be well positioned to have a vibrant economy in the future.

Beyond K-12, we also must take steps to make college more affordable. The costs of college tuition has skyrocketed 80 percent in the last decade. Seven in ten college graduates have an average debt of more than $35,000, and only 59 percent of students seeking a bachelor's degree actually finish. We need to incentivize college completion, for both students and colleges, better match college training with employer needs, and address the runaway costs.

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