Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

As a father of a UCPS elementary school and a UCPS middle school child, I know first-hand of the challenges that our parents and children face on a day-to-day basis. Education has a long-lasting effect on our children's future and the economic success of our county and state. Union County is home to Wingate University, South Piedmont Community College, and Union County Public Schools, all of which are leaders in their respected areas of education. We are also home to some amazing charter schools and a growing home-schooling population. I fully support the parents of Union County having the opportunity to choose the best avenue for their children to learn and be successful. I too have been siting around the table helping my sons with their homework, trying to figure out the "new normal" of education. When parents with 4-year degrees can't figure 5th grade math out, our system is broken. I support local control of our schools. Kids learn differently and you simply can't squeeze every single kid into a single system and learning vehicle and expect success. It is the formula for failure and unacceptable. Let's get back to the basics. For too long, the areas of education that directly impact our children, our classrooms and our teachers, take a back seat to the monstrous bureaucracy that is crippling our system and simply sucking limited resources dry. This must change now.

I support the promotion of public/private partnerships with our schools. Involving private partners in our schools allow us to make sure that scarce funding is maximized in a way that is efficient and provides the best available education and safety for our children.

As a former member of the NC State Board of Community Colleges and a current member of the Appropriations on Education, as well as the Education Committee, I have directly seen how important higher education is in a community. Our work places are becoming more and more high-tech and our workforce must be prepared for this fact. I fully support our local community college and the training they provide to promote a highly skilled workforce and also provide an alternate to a 4-year degree.

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