Issues

I want to be very clear and fully transparent. I never wanted to be a politician. But I was inspired to enter the race for the District 94 House seat because of education. With 45 years invested in education it is extremely important to me. There are many aspects of the current public education system that trouble me and need to be corrected. Here are what I believe are the three biggest issues that need to be addressed by the General Assembly in Raleigh.

1)            The pay schedule for experienced teachers fails to retain quality teachers. The pay for beginning teachers is attractive to a recent college graduate that has been working part time and going to college to obtain teaching credentials. However, after a few years, they realize that the pay cannot sustain a growing family and they are faced with either taking on a second job or leaving the profession. Our educators should never have to consider taking a second job to make ends meet. Teaching is a demanding job and it is impossible to devote what is needed to teach while working a second job. Our students lose regardless of which choice is made. The prevailing idea in Raleigh is to merely hire a new teacher at a cheaper rate.

2)            Vouchers are ruining public schools. Giving vouchers to taxpayers who send their children to private or charter schools is the equivalent of me asking for a voucher because I did not call the police or the fire department last year. Our society is set up for all of us to pay for the necessary services for the common good of the citizens. That money should be given back to public schools. The vast majority of students in Wilkes and Alexander Counties attend public schools. Our tax dollars here shouldn’t go to families in Raleigh and Charlotte that send their kids to private schools.

3)            We spend entirely too much time testing students. I have talked with many teachers about testing and the amount of time they have to invest in testing. In many cases, testing takes about one week each quarter. That amounts to one month of time which could be used for instruction over the course of a school year. Our teachers already knows what students have mastered the material. The only thing testing reveals is how well students perform under pressure. Is this what we want? And do we want to keep students under the stress of constant testing?