Issue Position: Quality Public Education from Pre-K through College

Issue Position

Education is the foundation of a democratic society. It is the most powerful tool in lifting people out of poverty, expanding opportunity and preparing people from all backgrounds to live up to their full potential.

I am the product of our public school system, having graduated from Falmouth High School and the head of my committee, Brian Switzer, is a local school teacher. I come at this issue as someone who wants to support all of our children AND our teachers.

But that means getting serious about funding. State aid to our schools has been level funded for years -- even as our towns have struggled with increasing costs. With fixed costs like healthcare and retirement rising, there is little money available for important innovations like universal pre-K and full day kindergarten all of this have been shown to improve education outcomes.

We need to get serious about funding our schools.

As State Representative I would:

*Increase funding for public school from pre-K to higher education so that every child can get a truly free public education. Period.

*Invest in some of the innovations that have worked at charter schools -- longer school days, homework support, smaller class sizes -- we can't just say it works -- and then not pay for it.

*Fight to lower the cost of public college. It is a failure of our system that it costs over $100,000 for in-state students to get a degree from UMass Amherst.

*I know that this will all take money -- and it's about time we paid for the things we really care about. That's why I support the millionaire's tax which increases the tax rate on income over one million dollars and that money goes directly to funding public education and transportation.

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