Issue Position: On Education

Issue Position

I believe that we owe it to all our children to provide them with a good education. Research has shown that early childhood education is critical for that child's development and continued success in school. I have heard business people say that if they had a dollar to spend on education, they would spend it on early childhood programs.

Our school populations are falling and that is expected to continue. Given that we rank in the bottom third in the country with regards to state funding of education, we will be facing some serious issues around education: keeping quality of education high in the face of dwindling numbers and rising costs. We owe it to all our children to continue to provide them with the opportunity for a good education.

In 2018, we faced a bill that would have diverted funds from public education to the private sector, including religious schools and home schools, in clear violation of our constitution. This bill would have drained about $99 million dollars from public schools and sent that money to the private sector over the period of about 11 years. This would have had a devastating effect on the budgets of local schools as well as on property taxes, which would have increased substantially in order to cover this shortfall.

Public monies support public education. Taxpayer money cannot and should not be used to subsidize private education. People are free to choose what educational situation they want for their children, however, it is wrong for taxpayer money to be used to pay for it.

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